Home Blog Page 473

Apple To Launch MacBook Air At US$799: Will It Stand Against Intel’s Ultrabook?

By
Abhishek Singh
-
2

Indeed, Intel seems very aggressive this time and wants to squash out the market with its Ultrabook lineups. The company has continuously been endeavoring to clinch out majority portion of  MacBook market share worldwide. Last year, Intel strictly instructed to its hardware manufactures to design the device as per prescribed specifications–which was given by Intel to the manufactures in the beginning of the last year. The company is really staunch about the price of the device—which should not be exceeded than $699.

Apparently, the attempt of Intel has compelled to other manufactures like Apple to lay down the price of their MacBook lineups to compete with “Ultrabook” in the market. However, Digitimes has reportedly stated that Apple is considering to launch MacBook Air at US$799 in the third quarter of  its fiscal 2012.

Intel is continuously forcing to its hardware manufacturers to lower down the price of the device to $699 before second half of this year. However, Acer has recently reduced its Ultrabook’s  shipment target. In order to contend Apple’s MacBook lineup, Intel will have to demarcate the price of their Ultrabook somewhat lower than $799 in the second half of this year.

How much conscious Intel is about its goal seems from its act; it has already announced a fund of US$300 million for Ultrabooks manufacturing and another US$100 million for developing its application store. The company has also planned to invest heavily on the promotion of products later this year. Undoubtedly, the promotion will strength the brand to make its strong penetration among notebook vendors in the market.

If you will consider about the present price tags of Apple’s lineup, definitely, you will find out that the lineups are quite expensive than Ultrabook. Currently, Apple is offering 11-inch 64 GB of its MacBook Air at US$999, while it has kept US$1,999 for its 11-inch 128 GB version. Likewise, 13-inch screen size of 128 GB and 256 GB versions have been priced at US$1,299 and $1,599 respectively. At present, Apple really needs to cut the price of its MacBook lineups in order to compete with Intel’s Ultrabook devices.

However, we might expect that the advent of Windows 8 in October of this year would provide a strong support to Intel’s Ultrabooks models in the market. Windows 8 “consumers preview” has already made 1 million download records within 24 hrs of its launch at MWC event in February of this year and a vast numbers of users are still willing to own Windows 8 powered devices.

Anyway, Apple’s plan to reduce the price of its MacBook lineups at the moment seems trustworthy. Undoubtedly, MacBook Air at US$799 will lure a vast numbers of users and it would jeopardize to Ultrabook’s business worldwide.

Advertisement

The Jury Has Spoken: Yes, Google Is Guilty For Copyright Infringement !

By
Shikhar Srivastava
-
0

The Jury has spoken, and the partial verdict is that the world’s favorite search engine is guilty of copyright infringement as claimed by Oracle. The jury has ruled that certain pieces of Android APIs were too similar to code used in Oracle’s Java programming tools. Oracle had sued Google in August 2010, therefore the verdict has taken a long time coming, almost 2 years.

But the jury is still undecided on whether or not Google can claim fair use in its defense. The District Judge William Alsup had earlier given the jurors some more time to decide upon whether or not Oracle’s claims were correct, and after an important decision making weekend, the jurors finally decided that Google is guilty as charged. But since the jury is still undecided on whether Google can claim to be protected under the fair use principle, this could lead to Google filing for a mistrial as a result, as according to Mercury News.

The verdict is that Google is guilty of copyright infringement in its Android OS.

The case has been pending in the courts for 2 years even as the Android OS has gained popularity and broken technology barriers. Google shares its Android OS with several manufacturers around the world and this is a major reason which led to its global popularity. The consumer has access to the best new technology at affordable prices, which is what a lot of buyers look for in a phone, at least in the third world countries. And while Google kept on revising and upgrading its Android platform, and opened new avenues for developers and consumers alike, Oracle pushed harder for what they called a copyright infringement of its Java technology which they had acquired from Sun Microsystems almost a year before filing the lawsuit.

But it must be noted that the decision is the first of three parts of deliberation in the jury trial:

  • The first part covered the claimed copyright infringement.
  • The second round of deliberations will revolve around the patent related questions.
  • And the third part will consider the damages that Google might have to cough up, if the jury so decides.

Oracle can consider this more than just a moral victory, and will be hoping to make Google pay for the copyright infringements. As for Google, this could be a huge setback, its not the money they would be worried about, they make more than enough from advertisements each month to cover for any uncalled for monetary losses.

What would really hurt Google could be the fingers that will now be pointed towards Android. Google prides itself on being an innovative company, but to be charged guilty in a court of law for violating copyrights will not be an easy pill to swallow. Android’s reputation has already taken a beating last year when Apple’s late visionary, the legendary Steve Jobs called Android “A stolen Product“, claiming that Google had ripped off Apple’s iOS and come up with Android’s User Interface.

Further proceedings in the trial could make for some serious headlines in the days to come, Google though would be hoping to see the trial turn into a mistrial. Keep watching this space, we will keep you updated on the latest in the trial.

Advertisement

GroupOn Financial Trouble: Daily Deal Titan Is Loosing The Grip Over Market [INFOGRAPHIC]

By
Dazeinfo
-
0

The gory of daily-deal business is just fading away and now the business titan GroupOn is also suffering due to declined share valuation, irregularities in finance and losses. The much hyped IPO of GroupOn, which went crazy at the time of launch, is turning out to be a little disappointing for investors and market. Stock prices are plunging, merchants are pulling back from offering coupons based business, refund amount is mounting up and SEC is again evalating the first financial year result after GroupOn IPO went live.

With all hue and cry, BusinessInsuranceQuote has released an infographic which highlights the troubles and issues with GroupOn as business, finance and market valuation. It covers many important but disappointing facts about GroupOn which could prove an important aspect for their further plan on ivestment over GroupOn.

The highlights of infographic are:

  • Share has plunged 17% since the launch of GroupOn IPO.
  • The business model of daily-deal giant is quite controversial.
  • Merchants are turning their back towards GroupOn coupons.
  • The refund amount is mounting up.

 

 

Advertisement

67.3 Percent Asian/Pacific Islanders Own Smartphone In The U.S: [Study]

By
Abhishek Singh
-
1

At the beginning of the last month, I have elaborated every second Smartphone in the US are being powered by Android. In February of this year, Android devices captured over half of Smartphone market in the U.S, followed by iOS with 30.1% of market share.

According to another report, there were 106 million Smartphone users in the US till March of this year. The report also stated that Android dominated over 51.0% of the U.S market in Q1 ending in March of this year, while iOS had 30.7% market share. But, a research analysis firm “Nielsen” has reportedly stated that 50.4% users in the U.S. had Smartphone in till the end of March 2012, up 47.8% in December last year.

However, there is little discrepancy between our previous stats and recent stats of the research analysis firms. According to Nielsen, Apple led in the Smartphone handsets manufacturer segment during Q1 ending March of this year, but our previous stats revealed that Samsung was top OEM manufacturer with 26.0% of market share in the country during the same period. However, I am agree with the firm that Android was the top Smartphone OS in the U.S in Q1 ending March of this year.

According to our previous stats, Android was dominating with 51% market share in the U.S in March of this year, followed by iOS, RIM, Microsoft and Symbian with 30.7%, 12.3%, 3.9% and 1.4% respectively. But, a recent report from Nielsen stats that Android had 48.5% market share in March of this year, followed by iOS, RIM and Windows Mobile with 32.0%, 11.6% and 4.1% respectively.

Indeed, it’s very interesting to know, who makes up for dizzying growth of Smartphone owners in the U.S. The graph (below) is clearly demonstrating that Asian/Pacific Islanders have incredibly contributed  to the growth of Smartphone owners in the US. It’s astounding that 50.9% female mobile subscribers in the U.S had Smartphone in Q1 ending March of this year.

In a previous report, I have discussed how households income, age and education background determined the ownership of Smartphone devices in the U.S. However, Nielsen has also illustrated in its latest report that Smartphone are particularly more popular among age group of 25 to 34, more than two out of three owned Smartphone in March of this year. In the U.S, almost three in five Hispanic mobile subscribers used Smartphone till the March of this year.

Advertisement

‘Google Play’ Is Fast Catching Up On Apple App Store: 15 Billion Downloads Achieved

By
Shikhar Srivastava
-
3

The number of app downloads from Google Play has reached 15 billion. Yesterday a UK newspaper – The Independent reported that Google Play app downloads could soon reach the 15 billion, but today TechCrunch confirmed the reports stating that the milestones had already been achieved a few weeks ago.

Ever since its launch on 23rd October 2008, Google Play which was back then known as the Android Market has grown at a tremendous rate. When it first launched speculations were ripe that it might not be as successful as it was seen more of a desperate measure by Google to counter Apple’s thriving app store, which was launched earlier in July, the same year.

Over the last few years, Google has managed to attract a lot of developers and this has been largely due to improvements in their Android OS in the last year or so. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is the latest offering in the series of Android Operating Systems, and it is fast establishing a market of its own, thereby invoking a keen interest from the developer community to invest their time and money in this app store.

Google Play vs App Store: The Ultimate Battle of App Downloads

Rival Apple’s app store reached the same milestone in July 2011, which means that even though Apple had a very small 3 month head start to Google’s app store, still it managed to reach the milestone almost 8 months in advance, which is another indicator as to how well their app store has been doing. But Google is finally there and they can’t be complaining.

Google Play is fast catching up on Apple.

Apple app store’s last official Press release about their most recent figures was in March this year when Apple announced that they had crossed the 25 billion downloads mark. That’s 10 billion downloads in 8 months. While Google’s last official press release was in January this year when they revealed that their app store has crossed the 11 billion downloads mark, which makes it about 4 billion downloads in 4 months. Simple maths says the ratio is 1.25 billion downloads per month for Apple and 1 billion per month for Google. Considering the rate at which Google Play has been growing, it seems the day when they will go past their only competition in Apple is not so distant.

But there is still a lot that Google can learn from their rivals. In terms of revenues paid to developers Apple is an absolute charmer. Apple has already paid its app developers some $4 billion dollars compared to Google’s seemingly paltry sum of $320 million, that’s even after the difference between the total number of apps between the two has decreased significantly. Apple app store now has over  600,000 apps while Google Play has over 500,000. Which essentially means that even though the developers are churning out hundreds of apps for Google Play they aren’t getting paid as well as they would have if they were developing for the Apple app store.

Google’s courtroom battle with Oracle has indeed been revealing a few interesting things about the Android platform. A judge recently revealed how Android had been leaking a lot of money from Google’s pockets in 2010. But the document which he cited also revealed that Google expected Android to incur losses amounting to $113 million in 2010 and that is expected to have profits of $64 million in 2011, $248 million in 2012, and $548 in 2013. And the recent rise in app downloads on Google Play which is obviously the app store catering to the Android OS market suggests that Google’s estimates might be on the spot, and if they are, then there is no telling how much money the Google Play store is going to make for Google in the near future.

The Apple app store still leads the race, bot for how long?

Industry insiders often say that when it comes to Google, expect the unexpected. An app store that’s on the rise gives Google an opportunity to lure developers and show them that Android is the platform they would want to be working on, build more apps and generate more revenue thereby giving Google another opportunity, this opportunity in question is without question the one which drives Google’s business – make more from advertisements. Amazing isn’t it? I say with Google, you should expect the expected (no that is not a typo).

Advertisement

India: Women Spend More Time On Social Media Websites And Chat Apps On Their Smartphone: [Survey]

By
Abhishek Singh
-
1

Undoubtedly, the use of Smartphone varies from person to person, but whenever someone asks you to differentiate the use on the basis of gender, then definitely, it will be a hard task for you to bifurcate. It might be pleasure for everyone to listen that men and women are spending equal amount of time on their Smartphone. A research analysis firm “Nielsen Informate Mobile Insights” has revealed that men and women equally spend 81 hrs per month on their Smartphone, which is just less than 3 hrs a day.

The firm has reportedly stated that for calling and messaging, men spend 19% of their time on Smartphone, while women spend 25% time. However, men is leading in browsing and offline activities, spending 28% and 37%, compare to women, 19% and 27% respectively.

Women are spending 11 hrs of their time on calling and 9 hrs on messaging every month on Smartphone, which are somewhat higher than 8 hrs and 7 hrs time spending on calling and messaging on Smartphone by men respectively for the same duration. Men spend more than 50% time on web  browsing compare to women, an average numbers of website visited by men in a month is 20, while it’s just 14 amongst women.

Women more prefer to browse social media websites on their Smartphone– 43% web pages visited during survey period on Smartphone were social networking websites–, but men are less interested to visit social networking websites on their Smartphone, only 37% web pages visited were social networking websites during survey period.  However, men are more intended to browse adult content compare to women, browsed 9% against 2%  during the survey period respectively. Women spend an average of 46 minutes on online apps everyday, while it’s just 25 minutes among men.

The stat (below) provided by the firm has revealed that women are more interested to invest their time on social media networking websites like “Facebook”, while men are dominating in searching geographical locations on Google Map. In terms of chat apps accessing, women are quite dominating over men to spend time on Google Talk and WhatApp.

It’s interesting to know that women spend much more time on apps than men. The states are clearly depicting that women are using thrice “WhatApp” on their Smartphone compare to men.

Via: techcircle

Advertisement

Airtel Launched Its 4G services In Bangalore: [Report]

By
Abhishek Singh
-
1

Last month, Airtel launched 4G services in Kolkata and promised to launch 4G services in Bangalore within 30 days. So, Airtel  has kept its promise and launched 4G services in Bangalore yesterday. It’s well-known that the telecom giant has licenses to roll out its 4G services in only four circles such as Kolkata, Maharashtra, Bangalore and Punjab. Now, it has rolled out 4G services in two of its circles and endeavoring to launch the services in other two circles. Anyway, Airtel has become an initiator to launch 4G services across the country.

Yesterday, the company introduced a 30GB data pack planning, for getting such offer, subscribers would have to pay Rs 2,999. However, the company is also offering the existing planning, which were introduced in kolkata last month, along with 30 GB data pack planning, announced yesterday. The carrier is also privileging cashback for the CPE/Dongle with RS 1,999 and Rs 2,999 plans–the main idea behind this is that the telecom vendor wants to provide at least device in order to access 4G services at introductory level.

The carrier is offering 10 movies titles at the free of cost to customers for the first month, however, from next month onwards, they will have to pay a monthly subscription of Rs 149 for watching unlimited movies. Presently, the carrier is offering 35 movies in its catalogue, but users need not to be worried because the telecom vendor has revealed that it will add new movies in catalogue list. However, comeback of Mukesh Ambani after a long gap in telecom segment might jeopardize to the business of Airtel, because Reliance is planning to offer 1GB data plan in just Rs 10, which is one-tenth of existing 3G services plan in India.

 Bharti Airtel’s CEO of India and South Asia–Sanjay Kapoor–said,  “As seen the world over, the total data usage is exploding and is doubling each year to grow to nearly 3.6 hexabytes by 2014. With the launch of 4G, India will move from being a follower in technology to matching the world in this domain.”

In India, Bangalore has become second city where 4G services has been introduced.  However, Reliance is only the player at the moment having 4G spectrum on Pan-India level, that means it does not need to make any roaming agreement with other players to provide 4G services across the country. There are some other players such as Tikona and Aircel, which are expected to launch its 4G services later this year.

Advertisement

iOS Dominates Over Android In Mobile Gaming Revenue In The U.S. And Europe: [Study]

By
Abhishek Singh
-
0

Users often use their mobile handsets for playing game worldwide. Now, the U.S. and European countries have become a big market for mobile game revenue generation. A market research firm “Newzoo” has recently studied the mobile gaming ecosystem in the U.S. and European countries such as Germany, France and the U.K. For study, the firm included 17,000 respondents (from involved countries) along with the monthly database of Android and iOS game revenue, and also gathered an information of downloaded data of 200 grossing games in these countries (involved in the survey) incorporation with “Distimo”.  The firm has stated that mobile gamers in the U.S.  increased to 101 million in the March of this year compare to 75 million of the prior year. In the US, 69% of users were playing games on their Smartphone in Q1 ending March of this year, while 21% users were playing on their Tablet. The number of paying players grew 35% to 37 million year-over-year. In the U.S, mobile gaming accounted another year of double digit revenue growth. Mobile gaming revenue from iOS devices during the study period ending in March of this year was higher compare to Android devices in the involved countries. The market research firm has also reported that American player spent five times more on iOS devices compare to Android.

In the U.S, 19 million users were playing game on their iPhone in Q1 ending March of this year, accounted 28% of all Smartphone gamer across the country, while 19 million gamers played game on iPod Touch. In the Tablet gaming space, 12.7 million American played games on iPad, dominated 60% of total Tablet share during the study period.

As per the data retrieved from three stores combined (iPad, iPhone/iPod App Store and Google Play) of top 200 grossing games downloaded during the study period, iOS accounted 84% of revenue in March of this year.

In the U.S, the gaming on regular phones declined in Q1 of this year from a year back, only 19% users were using their devices for playing games, whereas, the figure was quite higher in France, where 34% users were still using feature/regular phone for playing mobile games. The firm studied that 69% and 75% users in the U.S. and U.K were respectively using their Smartphone for playing games. It’s quite clear from the above stats that users in the U.S. and U.K. are substantially switching from feature phone to Smartphone. However, Android accounted 16% of total revenue in the U.S., while it was just 6% in the U.K, which was the lowest compare to all other countries involved in the study. Mobile game revenue from Android is somewhat higher in the U.S compare to the U.K. due to strong penetration of  Kindle Fire tablet, 17.4 million active Kindle Fire users in the U.S.

Source: Newzoo

Advertisement

Why Microsoft Has Teamed-Up With Barnes & Noble?

By
Abhishek Singh
-
1

A week before, Microsoft teamed-up with Barnes & Noble in order to provide a world-class reading technology on Nook Tablet, which is currently facing an intense competition from Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Apple’s iPad. Microsoft has 17.6% stake in the amalgamation including e-Book division and Barnes & Noble’s college’s book stores unit–currently operating in 641 stores. However, Barnes & Noble’s traditional bookstores are struggling since the last couples of years. Undoubtedly, the partnership will pave Microsoft to move up beyond its Windows and Office software business.

Microsoft has some bitter past experiences such as its partnership with Yahoo in 2009 to lay down “Google Search Engine” went  futile. Last year, the company inked with Finnish hardware manufacturer Nokia, despite of this, its Windows Phone OS could not perform impressively.  Besides, the company also acquired Skype for $8.5 billion last year, which was the highest ever stake by the company. Now, the company has decided to invest $300 million in Barnes & Noble.

It’s quite well-known that Nook Tablet is currently powered by Android 2.3 version. But, the device will be powered by Windows 8 OS later this year. However, final consumers’ preview of Windows 8 will be available in October this year. Microsoft’s Windows 8 has been developed in order to provide a better users experience for reading electronics Books, magazine and newspaper on the Tablet. It’s also expected that Microsoft would launch its e-reader this year.

At present, Barnes & Noble is dominating over 27% of US e-Book title sales, while Amazon accounts 60% of e-Book sales across the country. Barnes & Noble has reportedly stated loss in its digital business in the fiscal 2011 ending April 30, while its EBITDA slid 42% to $163 million. A month before, the company was seeking for strategic partner to stimulate its business (Nook and e-book) worldwide. The reason is quite obvious that the company is not as matured in the apps and cloud storage services as Apple is.

Last year, Microsoft litigated Barnes &Noble for infringing its patents. Now, the litigation has been settled down and Barnes & Noble will not have to pay royalty for its device–anyway it might subsidize the cost of the device. I think, the partnership will provide a legal support to digital bookseller.

Undoubtedly, users those are owning Nook Tablet are basically e-book enthusiasts. Teaming-up of Barnes & Noble with Microsoft might establish a digital storefront to market apps, e-books and other online reading contents for users as Apple unveiled in the beginning of this year.

Presently, both the companies are focusing on the digital reading technologies and digital education materials for students and educators. They are planning to provide one of the largest digital catalogues of e-books, Magazines and newspapers to hundreds of millions users worldwide.

Advertisement

The Growth Of Social Media App Industry For Smartphone Is At Peak [Study]

By
Dazeinfo
-
2

Since the intro of booming smartphones into the global market, people have become cozy with the use of internet on phone rather than on pc or laptops. Hence it led to the rapid evolution of social media apps on smartphones. The wrath for the top place amongst the social media app industry is high. Now there are various causes that led to the social media app burst on Smartphone.

Diversion

In this fast pace world people hardly ever want to access their pc or laptop for cyberspace (internet) since the birth of smartphones. A great mass of people have diverted their usage of net from notebooks to smartphones. The reason being is that the smartphones are portable, user friendly, less in weight and size and one can call, text, video call, surf net, install apps, run apps, set reminders, use GPS, wifi, Bluetooth socialize with people over net and many more.

Social Media Competition

Now that there are plentitude of smartphones in the market, the next question which arises on user’s mind is which social media app is on the topnotch. This eventually leads to massive competition among the social media giants. A small bug in their app could bring down their domain. It is an official war against these companies.

Social Media app industry

Social Media Brand Promotion

One of the main sources for income by these social media enterprise is mainly the advertisement. And in order to attain their surplus income from many they need to satisfy all those Smartphone addicted beasts.

Social Media Gamers

It is a tedious job to control the fingers of gamers. So it is the opportunity for these social media enterprises to release apps merged with social networking sites like Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace, Skype etc. Now the gamers can go gaga over their favorite game apps via smartphones.

It is evident that the most popular and addictive use of social media apps include social networking sites where users interact for maximum hours. Members relish surfing these sites whether it is on a journey, in the office or in the leisure.

Advertisement

Is Android Shaping Up As A Huge ‘Liability’ For Google?

By
Shikhar Srivastava
-
1

Everybody in the digital world knows that Apple and Google are at war, at least when it comes to the Operating System arena. Apple’s ground breaking, revolutionary iOS powers the world’s top selling smart phones – The iPhone and the world’s top selling tablets – The iPads, whereas Google shares its Android OS with several manufacturers around the world and the Android OS powers some of the only real competitions to Apple products. But is Android the answer to Google’s ambitious plans to out perform and out sell these high quality Apple products?

A jury which is deliberating Oracle’s claims that Google, through its Android Operating System infringes on copyrights and patents related to Java, also discussed that Google’s Android mobile platform resulted in a net loss for the company in every quarter of 2010, despite generating $97.7 million in revenue in the first quarter of that year. This point was brought to light by a U.S. judge in court.

At the end of the day on Thursday, one juror sent out a note asking what would happen if they can’t reach a unanimous verdict. In response, U.S. District Judge William Alsup asked them to continue with the deliberations on Friday. Oracle sued Google in August 2010, saying Android infringes on its intellectual property rights to the Java programming language. Google says it does not violate Oracle’s patents and that Oracle cannot copyright certain parts of Java, which is an open-source software language.

Oracle's Lawsuit against Google seems to be revealing a lot about Android's finances.

In a hearing outside the jury’s presence earlier on Thursday, Alsup asked attorneys from both companies about some of Android’s financial information submitted in the case. The judge had sealed an internal 2011 Google document which contains profit and loss numbers for Android in 2010. And even though he did not disclose the actual figures but he did read aloud certain portions of the document in court on Thursday, and this is where he noted that Android lost money in every quarter of 2010, adding that it “adds up to a big loss for the whole year”.

So the question that now arises is that if the Android OS is making nothing but loss, why is Google so adamant on doing business through it? Some figures from Google documents from 2010 revealed earlier in the trial showed that Google expected a loss of $113 million in 2010 from Android and it expected to have profits of $64 million in 2011; $248 million in 2012; and $548 in 2013.

This is not the first time that Google's Android OS is under fire.

The numbers are clearly not good enough to compete against Apple’s iOS, but with Android being the world’s leading mobile operating system largely due to its vast reach to consumers at lower prices when compared to the Apple devices, one expects Google to finally start making some money off this beast. But judging from what the judge and the jury are saying in the ongoing Oracle V/S Google litigation it seems the true Android story might finally be coming to the open, and this raises more questions about why Google does not publicly report financial information about Android.

There could be only 1 answer to that question, Android is perhaps a liability for the search giant, because irrespective of how many millions of units carrying the Android OS sell, if the net outcome is a loss, well Google for all its might, will not be able to afford continuous losses for a very long time. Sure Google’s search capabilities and its advertising business can keep its pockets full for years to come (Facebook might have something to say about this soon), but no company, not even the high and mighty Google can afford a product that inflicts losses year after year, quarter after quarter.

We will keep a close eye on the Oracle-Google battle in the courts, it could reveal more such interesting facts and figures about Android in the future.

Advertisement

LinkedIn’s Q1 Results Stuns Analysts: 100% Year-Over-Year Quarterly Growth. [Report]

By
Shikhar Srivastava
-
1

Analysts had expected LinkedIn’s earnings at $.09 cents per share, with quarterly revenue in at $179 million, well against the run of play, LinkedIn has out done those predictions and in its release of first quarter financial results the company has reported Q1 revenue at  $188.5 million, an increase of 101% compared to $93.9 million in the first quarter of 2011.

Here are some more facts and figures that matter from LinkedIn’s Q1 results:

  • The Big news is that the company’s net income for the first quarter was $5 million, compared to net income of $2.1 million for the first quarter 2011, which  indicates an increase of 140%.
  •  Non-GAAP net income for the first quarter was $16.9 million, compared to $5.8 million for the first quarter of 2011.
  • Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $38.1 million, or 20% of revenue, compared to $13.3 million for the first quarter of 2011, or 14% of revenue.
LinkedIn's latest offering is LinkedIn for iPad.

“LinkedIn’s solid performance in the first quarter built on the company’s momentum in 2011 … We saw strength across all key metrics from member signups and engagement to significant revenue growth across our three product lines” – Jeff Weiner, CEO, LinkedIn.

Here’s a break down of the factors that contributed to the world’s largest professional network’s stunning 101% revenue growth since Q1 of 2011:

  • Revenue from Hiring Solutions products totaled $102.6 million, an increase of 121% compared to the first quarter of 2011.  Hiring Solutions revenue represented 54% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2012, compared to 49% in the first quarter of 2011.
  • Revenue from Marketing Solutions products totaled $48.0 million, an increase of 73% compared to the first quarter of 2011.  Marketing Solutions revenue represented 26% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2012, compared to 30% in the first quarter of 2011.
  • Revenue from Premium Subscriptions products totaled $37.9 million, an increase of 91% compared to the first quarter of 2011. Premium Subscriptions represented 20% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2012, compared to 21% of revenue in the first quarter of 2011.

“LinkedIn grew over 100% for the seventh consecutive quarter and achieved records for adjusted EBITDA, operating and free cash flow … We remain focused on investing in our technology and product platform as well as expanding our business in new international markets and customer segments.” –  Steve Sordello, CFO, LinkedIn.

It must be noted that LinkedIn has been actively trying to improve its services and offer its users a better, more compelling experience on the website. In this effort the company has already introduced a new version of People You May Know earlier in March.

The company launched an embeddable “Follow” button that companies can add to their websites in February. And of course there was LinkedIn’s acquisition of contact manager Rapportive official. Also Last week the company made its presence felt on the iPad consumer arena, by launching its iPad app. 

With so much on offer for the professional user, and the Q1 results to show for their hard work, you can be rest assured that LinkedIn will be a force to be reckoned with in the Social Network arena, and can not be underestimated by its rivals.

Advertisement

Is Samsung’s Decision To Launch Galaxy SIII In India Rather Than Nexus Rationale?

By
Abhishek Singh
-
3

Indeed, it’s a good hearsay for Samsung enthusiasts that galaxy SIII is going to be launched in India by June of this year. Last week, Samsung promulgated to not launch its Galaxy Nexus model in India. Really, the company disgruntled a vast numbers of Android and Nexus fans across the country. The company’s decision was somewhat incoherent because users were waited for the device since its launch in the last year. Previously, I have predicted two reasons why the company could not launch its Nexus in India; first, Samsung has already launched its “Galaxy SII” and “Galaxy Note” model in India and these devices have respectively 4.3–inch and 5.3-inch screen sizes.  Last year, Samsung hybridized Tablet and Smartphone and released its “Galaxy Note”. Anyway, both these Smartphones (Galaxy SII and Galaxy Note) are currently outperforming in the domestic market and the launch of “Galaxy Nexus” (screen size between Galaxy SII and Note) might jeopardize a well-established business of Galaxy Note and SII devices in India.  Secondly, Samsung had to unveil its “Galaxy SIII” model at London event on May 3 and the company was more serious about the shipments of SIII model than its Galaxy Nexus model.

Last week, I have elaborated  full-fledged specifications and features of Samsung Galxy SIII Smartphone. The device is powered by Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS and also has 1.4 GHz Quad-core Samsung Exynos 4412 Soc processor, 4.8-inch HD AMOLED screen and 8 MP rear Camera. Besides, the device is also possessing number of features such as S Beam, Buddy Photo Share, AllShare Cast, AllShare Play, Pop up play and more. In addition to these, the device is also offering Video Hub, Music Hub and Game Hub in  order to provide high quality movies, personal music streaming and numerous social media games to users respectively. The device has also an advanced natural language user interface “S voice”, which is capable to detect users’ face voice and their motions. Users can share 1GB of files within three minutes and 10 MB of file within second without Wi—Fi or cellular signals using “S Beam”.

However, the price of the device is kept Rs 38,000 in India. I think, The company took right decision to not launch Galaxy Nexus model in India. Anyway, Galaxy SIII model is outstanding and large number of folks in the country are more willing to own the device.

Advertisement

Samsung Galaxy SIII: Big Things Always Come In Small Package: [Review]

By
Abhishek Singh
-
4

After a long wait, Samsung Galaxy SIII has finally been unveiled at London events yesterday. There were lots of speculations related to Galaxy SIII models across the world, but now, a full specifications of the device is available in the market. The company has explained that the device has been designed to provide a better user experience. The device is potentially viable to recognize users voice, understand the their intentions and lets them to share a moment without toil.

However, we have discussed about specifications of the device, but it’s good to explain all these in nutshell. The device features 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display with 16:9 aspect ratio, an 8MP rear camera, 1.9MP front camera, 1.4 GHz quad-core processor and is being powered by Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich.

The device is capable enough to detect the users’ face, voice and their motions. Like iPhone’s Siri, it also features S Voice—an advanced natural language user interface–for listening and responding to users words.  It allows users to search contents and control the device including volume control, text messaging, emailing, camera launch and photo capture.

Galaxy SIII features “S Beam”, which allows users to share 1GB movie file within three minutes of time span and 10 MB music file within seconds even without Wi-Fi or cellular signals.  “Buddy photo share” in the device will allow user to share  photos among their friends simultaneously, while using “AllShare Cast” function,  users can wirelessly connect their Television with Galaxy SIII or can transfer Smartphone content immediately onto a larger display screen regardless of the distance between the devices. Besides, users can also use “AllShare Play” for instantly sharing of any forms of files between Galaxy SIII and Tablet PC or TV irrespective of the distances. The device is currently available in two colors such as Pebble Blue and Marble White, however, Samsung will introduce the device in number of additional colors.

The device has also “Pop up play” feature, which allows users to play a video anywhere on the screen along with performing number of tasks at the same time.  In addition to these, Galaxy SIII has ‘Burst Shot’ function that instantly capture twenty continuous shots and users can select their best eight photograph using “Best Photo” feature. HD Video can be prepared even from 1.9MP of front camera in the device.

Galaxy SIII facilitates users to access “Mobile Payment” through advanced Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. In addition to these, the device is also offering Video Hub, Game Hub and Music Hub to provide high quality movies, numerous social media games and personal music streaming respectively to users.

The company has announced availability of the device from the end of May in European countries prior to rolling out in other global markets.

The device will include an exclusive version of “Flipboard“, a popular social news magazine app, which is currently available only on iOS platform and it will available at “Google Play Marketplace” next year. The company has decided to launch the device on Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, MetroPCS, US Cellular, and C Spire in the U.S.

In the U.S, Nokia and HTC released its Lumia 900 and Titan II in the last month. Samsung Galaxy SIII has presently competition from Lumia 900, HTC Titan II and iPhone 4S in the market. In this context,  Samsung Galaxy SIII is no way vulnerable than other devices, and I think, it is even better than its rivals in terms of features. Indeed, the device is outstanding in all aspect and capable to outsell iPhone 4S in the market.

The video might be helpful for you to understand the features of Samsung Galaxy SIII:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D683O1YeozY

Advertisement

64% Of People Still Consider Cloud Storage A Risky Affair [Study]

By
Dazeinfo
-
0

Cloud storage technology has made the data storage much easy, simple, and worthy online. It is not only facilitating portability to users but also providing good amount of storage space for almost the cost of peanuts. Services like ‘Drop Box’, Google Drive and SkyDrive from tech giants are the ones which are supporting and enhancing this ecosystem for the next level. Users are actively relying on such services and hosting lots of their personal and professional information on cloud environment. However, the data security has always been a challenge for both the consumer and company authorities.

As per a poll conducted by InfoSec Europe, over security status and facilities of cloud storage, 45% of participants are currently using  cloud storage systems. Though, the young Entrepreneurs and SMBs are advising to their employees to go with cloud computing – due to its easy and good operations – 64% still feel this a scary affair and would like to stay away.

The main reason behind the such disappointment by majority is the ‘setup’ and ‘architecture’ of these cloud storage providers which fails to match the requirements of Enterprise users. Since the data will always be hosted on 3rd party server and storage system, the possibility of corporate data rigging always exist.

Cloud Storage

Besides, many other security concerns like Data Hacking, Crashing, and mishandling of data by 3rd party cloud storage provider are always itching corporate users. Infact many companies still lagging in terms of implementation of corporate policies which is making them to leave control over cloud data among employees, which is another risky aspect.

Chris Pace, a product specialist at Sophos, says “Simple precautions such as web-based policies using URL filtering, application controls that can be applied to cloud products, and data encryption that provides a layer of security across the board, should be introduced as standard if companies wish to reap the benefits of cloud, while mitigating security risks.”

Alternatively, many companies are relying over Wi-Fi setup and taking it as an exception. However, this throws a another challenge to them to control the synchronization of personal mobile devices like smartphone and Tablet by the employees. With constant appreciation of mobile devices usage running on multiple platforms, data monitoring and screening has emerged as a big challenge.

Chris Pace, a product specialist at Sophos, suggested that, “Instead of businesses setting up a standard wireless router that connects to the internet, with everyone using the same or a limited number of keys, they should be looking for ways to integrate Wi-Fi into their existing network security, giving them both better value and control.”

Though, the infrastructure improvisation and explosive growth in mobile market has kicked the data usage up, solutions like DropBox and Google Drive have emerged to handle the appreciated need and requirements. Also, with seamless integration between mobile, desktop and internet, the adoption of such services are only going accelerate. However, it would be interesting to see how these services are going to cater corporate concerns and needs in order to penetrate enterprise market.

Advertisement
1...472473474...580Page 473 of 580

Category

Links

Stay connected

Newsletter Signup

Subscribe to our newsletter

To be updated with all the latest news, offers and special announcements.

© Dazeinfo Media & Research Pvt Ltd | All rights reserved.