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Amazon’s Kindle With Ad-Support A Hit With Consumers

by Paul Joseph July 28, 2011 Featured

When Amazon decided to launch their popular Ebook reader: ‘the Kindle’ , with Ad-support for $25 less than its normal price of $139 , many people were sceptical  about this. They felt that $25 was not incentive enough to switch to an advertisement supported model. However, the proof is in the pudding that Amazon’s gamble paid off. While Amazon does not usually give out data on number of devices sold, but in their quarterly report released last week, they have indicated that the Kindle with Special Offers was a best selling device. They also offer the Kindle 3G with Ad Support for $50 less than its usual price. Offers like this really seem to be clicking with consumers. Amazon is a classic case of how overall excellence as a company is sure to translate to results. They are known for their customer friendliness, their willingness to go out of their way to help consumers and their excellent logistics. This enables them to price their products competitively. Their strategic tie-up with AT&T for Ad-support has helped them push their e-book readers to lower and lower price points. While their competitors like the B&N Nook and the Kobo E-Reader too are great devices, they have failed to achieve the momentum that Amazon’s Kindle has. This is because they have a more integrated eco-system with wireless purchase of books, wireless sending of documents, backup of all bookmarks and notes on Amazon’s servers and even textbook rentals . Amazon has been on a new high recently, having enjoyed decade-high earnings. While companies like FlipKart and InfiBeam have Amazon-like business models in India, Amazon themselves may be even planning to come to the country. They have an office set up in Chennai already, and next year we may even see them in the Indian market. It is to be noted that the Kindle can be bought in India from Amazon.com and shipped here for a reasonable Rs. 800 more ($18) using a service called Shop And Ship . This effectively means the Kindle can be bought in India for just around Rs. 6000 . This is a more affordable solution than buying it from a local reseller in India, as they usually charge a hefty premium.

Tagged as: amazon, business-models, competitors, country, ebook india, effectively, Indian, international, kindle, kindle ads, more-integrated, news, notes-on-amazon, special-offers, willingness

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New Maruti Swift to bring Maruti car sales back on track

by Paul Joseph July 25, 2011 Featured

The Indian auto market has seen many new cars in the hatchback segment in the country in the past few months. The famous brands from around the world are trying to enter the Indian Automobile sector. Due to the arrival of all these new brands in the country, it is said that Maruti India that has ruled the small car segment in the country from past few years has now lost its momentum. But the company has proved this totally wrong by their New Maruti Swift . The New Maruti Swift Price is expected to vary between 6.5 – 8 lakh. See More Maruti Alto Pictures

Tagged as: country, diesel, maruti, maruti cars, maruti-india, maruti-wagon, new maruti swift, new maruti swift price, pictures, successful, the-country

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Zenrin Set To Pick Up 24% Stake In MapMyIndia

by Paul Joseph July 22, 2011 Featured

Japanese map publisher Zenrin is in the final steps to invest 30 million USD in India-based digital mapping solution MapMyIndia , reports Economic Times. If the deal goes through, it will give Zenrin 24% stake in the company. The deal values MapMyIndia at 125 million USD.

Tagged as: country, crowdsourcing, google india, google-maps, google-street, google-transit, india-adds, mapmyindia, media, navigation systems, online

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India Signs MOU With US On Cyber Security

by Paul Joseph July 20, 2011 Featured

We at WATBlog have been covering extensively on cyber and related crimes. Indeed, internet has become the breeding ground of unwanted crimes and activities. In India, it is so high that we now have a cyber crime investigation manual already. If you remember, it did rain cyber crimes in India in 2010. And the god of social networking, Facebook has many crimes related to it. Amid these lurking menaces, there seems to be a silver lining. And that is, India and US have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to ensure an increased collaboration in cyber security, reports the Economic Times . The MOU was signed by R. Chandrashekhar, secretary, India Department of Information Technology, and Jane Holl Lute, deputy secretary for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Now the MOU will allow for a closer cooperation and the timely exchange of information on cyber security between the two countries. This agreement comes as a part of  the second India-US strategic dialogue, participated by the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Indian External Minister SM Krishna , to expand counter- terrorism ties between the two countries. The Economic Times also mentions of a statement from US Embassy stating that this agreement helps fulfill the joint commitment of both nations to advancing global security and countering terrorism , one of the pillars of the US-India Strategic Dialogue launched on July 20, 2009. The two parties to be involved in the operation are the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) , Department of Information Technology, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and DHS’ United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT ).  Altogether, this MOU is an outcome of the first comprehensive bilateral dialogue on homeland security issues between the US and India that was held in May this year. India has already been touted as the country most affected by cyber crime. You may have also heard about cyber attacks in India during festive seasons. You also prolly would not like to overlook numerous online lottery scams that have robbed many people of their hard earned money here. To counter all these, there have been many initiatives from the concerned authorities.  Last year too, the CBI and NASSCOM collaborated on beating the same. Indian Army too has a new strategy on cyber terrorism. There are exclusive cyber crimes police stations in Hyderabad . And many more. Do you think the MOU and all these initiatives will enable India to counter this big threat of our times? Let us know. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts NASSCOM And CBI Collaborate To Beat Cyber Crimes Janrain Includes Support For Orkut To Help Brands Tap Indian Market India gets its first Cyber Crime Investigation Manual to strengthen cyber security Facebook Drawing Marketing Money Away From Google And Foursquare? Facebook Places Begins India Roll Out

Tagged as: agreement, country, cyber law, cyber-crime, emergency, india, marketing-money, media, mou, orkut, web

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New Maruti Swift to be more fuel efficient

by Paul Joseph July 14, 2011 Featured

The largest Auto Maker in the country Maruti India has announced that the new Maruti Swift will undergo complete transformation. The company is trying to make the car more fuel efficient so that it is liked by the Indian customers. The company has made changes ranging from its looks to the engine of the car. The company has mainly concentrated on the weight of the car, so that it becomes more fuel efficient. The elder sibling of this car was among the most popular hatchbacks in the country. The sales figures of this car was among the top sold hatchbacks in the country. The company has already stopped the production of the old Maruti Swift, as the company did not want to have different groups in the Swift hatchback. See More Maruti Swift Pictures Read More on Maruti Swift The main transformation that this 2011 Swift has undergone is with its engine.The company has replaced the metal fuel tank with the plastic fuel tank, this was done to increase the mileage of the car. The weight of this car by this fuel tank has been reduced to about 30%, and the mileage is improved by 13%. This plastic fuel tank not only helps in increasing the mileage but also has other benefits like it is corrosion free, more sturdy, non explosive and most importantly it is recyclable. As claimed by ARAI the car will deliver a mileage of 17.9 kmpl in the petrol variant and 21 kmpl in the diesel variant. The size of the car has also been changed, the New Maruti Swift is a bit longer than the old one but shorter than Maruti Swift Dzire . See More Maruti Swift Pictures Read More on Maruti Swift Its the first time in the last six years that the company has decided to have some transformation with Maruti Swift. Maruti Swift Launch is proposed early in the month of August, but there are possibilities of having some changes in the launch date. Maruti Swift price is not yet declared by the company. At present Maruti India has Maruti A-Star , Maruti Alto , Maruti Gypsy , Maruti Ritz , Maruti Swift Dzire , Maruti SX4 , Maruti WagonR, Maruti Zen Estilo and Maruti Kizashi under its portfolio.

Tagged as: country, Indian, maruti-alto, maruti-gypsy, maruti-india, maruti-swift, mileage, new maruti swift, new maruti swift review, production

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Vodafone’s $2.5 Billion Indian Tax Bill Could Double To $5 Billion

by Paul Joseph July 4, 2011 Featured

Vodafone, which has to pay an Income Tax Bill of Rs. 12,297 Crore or around $2.5 billion , could now double in its amount. Vodafone’s CFO Andy Halford was quoted saying that Indian IT authorities could impose penalties for non payment to to tune of $2-2.5 billion. Vodafone owes taxes related to its 2007, $10.9 billion acquisition of Hutchison Essar or Hutch , according to the IT authorities. In April, the Supreme Court asked the country’s tax office to restrain from enforcing penalties on Vodafone until an order is passed after a case hearing in July, but allowed it to continue with its proceedings. Vodafone can take consolation that it is not the only service provider to face problems in the Indian Telecom Industry. Fierce competition and a large number of players have made it a difficult market to crack. Doubling of the tax payable to $5bn can have a huge impact on the balance sheet, but being one of the largest service providers in India and the world, the company should be able to absorb it. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts Vodafone To Pay Rs.12,297 crore To Income Tax Vodafone to HC:Wont pay any taxes! WAT’s Up Online? – June 24, 2008 Vodafone Anger The Masses: Social Media Backfiring On Them? Vodafone Backs Up Wireless Network Service And Not Optic Fiber Network

Tagged as: country, hutch, optic-fiber, technology, vodafone, vodafone-backs, wireless

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BharatMatrimony Profiles Become More Credible With Linkedin Integration

by Paul Joseph June 30, 2011 Featured

Last year a report was published in Times Of India which documented how a woman was cheated on a matrimonial website. A conman had posed to her as a suitor, but instead he duped her of Rs. 8 lakh. And this is not a standalone story. There are many more such instances. On the background of this, Bharatmatrimony.com , one of the leading matrimonial websites in India, has taken a major step in the direction of adding credibility to profiles on its website. BharatMatrimony has integrated with LinkedIn which will enable users to display their Linkedin profiles along with their matrimony profiles. The addition of the Linkedin profiles will enhance the overall credibility of their profiles, increase the depth of professional information available about them and improve the response to their profiles from prospects. LinkedIn is a professional networking site with a user-base of 10 million in India. Hence, it is a significant move by BharatMatrimony. Also Professionals making use of this feature can enhance their credibility and get better responses to their profiles because when it comes to marriage, professional identity is as important as personal identity. LinkedIn has an open API (application-programming interface). BharatMatrimony will use the same for this integration. “Our relationship with Bharatmatrimony seeks to add a deeper level of trust to the matrimonial profiles of professionals seeking a partner/spouse. We are delighted that Bharatmatrimony is using our open API in a creative and innovative way to develop an enhanced offering and create value for their members”, says Hari V. Krishnan, Country Manager, LinkedIn India. Last month BharatMatrimony launched a wedding gifts portal called MatrimonyGifts.com. It already has many special portals like PrivilegeMatrimony.com, EliteMatrimony.com, DivorceeMatrimony.com, ManglikMatrimony.com, DefenceMatrimony.com as well as religion and language-specific portals. BharatMatrimony was launched in 1997 and has gained 20 million registered users so far. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts BharatMatrimony Ventures Into Wedding Gifts Services, Launches MatrimonyGifts.com WATBlog Exclusive : Orkut Introduces Applications, Other Minor Changes A Glimpse into How Google aims to Change the World of API’s with Open Social Aadhar Project Expands To Various States; A Million UIDs A Day From October Basic Aadhar Authentication API To Be Available For Free

Tagged as: api, basic-aadhar, bharatmatrimony, country, linkedin, matrimonygifts.com, orkut, other-minor, profiles, project, tie ups, various-states, web, wedding

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The Growth Of Mobile Web Among Indians

by Paul Joseph June 30, 2011 Featured

According to the recent mobile web report, the mobile usage in India is currently expanding at a very rapid growth. This information is not shocking or surprising because it has being reported that about 49% of Indian population prefer mobile to access web. Nowadays, mobile device is evolving as a giant and penetrating into the digital space by offering all kind of services. According to the report form AdMarvel , India assemble lot of mobile web traffic from shopping and classifieds sites. Given the fact, our country is flooded with daily deal sites, shopping online gaining major traffic is understood. Mobile networks are not only limited to calls, talktime and SMS-packs but it also facilitates users with health related information , jobs,property,travel , sanitation alerts , etc. Some of the interesting facts of the report are as follows: In terms of total Opera mini users, India ranked 3rd place between May 2010 and May 2011. The page views increased from 390 and 430 within the past year. The worldwide growth of mobile web traffic is as follows: There are around 1 13.5 million Opera Mini users worldwide . On the global basis, 63.3 billion page views are recorded . Regional mobile web report collected from Latin America region: The page views in the region increased from 1556% , unique users by 535% while data transfer increased by 1041% . Social networking sites like Google, Facebook , Youtube , Live and Wikipedia are some of the popular sites in Latin American countries. Orkut is still popular site in Brazil,even though it have die a slow death in India. With the ongoing traffic on the handset devices mobile web is definitely becoming primary source of search among consumers. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts Microsoft’s New Cloud Version Of Office Apps Now In India Anonymous Hacks NIC Website To Protest Corruption SMS GupShup Connects With 45 Million Indians Through SMS Municipal Elections Held Via Internet In Gujarat City Using Scytl Opera Ties Up With Hungama.Com In India

Tagged as: brazil, country, digital space, india, internet, mobile, mobile web report, news, opera, opera-mini, sms, social, using-scytl

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Proto.in Showcases 15 New Indian Startups In Chennai on 9th July, 2011

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2011 Featured

A major platform called Proto.in all set to showcase around 15 start-ups partnered by Sequoia Capital at Chennai. With the growth of technology and mobile penetration, starts-up twinned with investor the event guarantees to bring an eventful platform to early stage entrepreneurs in the country. Proto.in was started in the year 2007 by Knowledge Foundation . The event encountered 7 edition , 105 start-ups and over 2,000 attendees and a volunteer base of 100 individuals . This time Proto vitrines 15 start-ups as well as there will be mentoring of 20 selected start-ups . The agenda for the event is in the following way: Workshop , Panel Discussion and Talks from India’s leading technologies, entrepreneurs, Angel investors and venture capitalists. This whole event is going to be aired on a new show called ‘Starting Up’ on ET NOW . In the past, ET NOW had launched ‘ Super Angels’ where one get to choose their favorite entrepreneurs simply by voting in their favor. The show featured some of the influential investors of India as well as the final winner was chosen by list of panelist called Super Angel. The event is all set to roll on out 9th July, 2011 at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai form 9. A.M to 7.P.M. If you are looking forward to learn some interesting facts about being a entrepreneurs, book your seat at the event on www.proto.in or www.greatlakes.edu.in/enrollproto . If you are interested enrolling yourself into a mentoring session write to contact@proto.in. Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts Get To Choose India’s “Super Entrepreneur” On ET Now Fashion And You Secures USD 8 Million From Sequoia Capital India Via Raises 10 Million $ In Funding From Sequoia IMI Mobile Raises $13 Million In Funding From Sequoia Capital Facebook launches Developer Contest in India

Tagged as: country, Featured, funding, indian-startups, mobile-raises, proto.in, sequoia capital, start ups

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World’s First Usable Affordable Tablet To Hit India This Month

by Paul Joseph June 28, 2011 Featured

What started out as an ultra-affordable laptop and then evolved to an affordable tablet, the Government’s pet project: Sakshat is set to ship by the end of June 2011. The word Sakshat means ‘Before Your Eyes’ and its launching for students across the country is hoped to bring real affordable digital empowerment to people who cannot afford computing devices normally . It had started off as a Laptop under Rs. 500 then evolved to Rs. 1500 per device project . After that it became a Rs. 1600 Tablet and was set to ship in January 2011. That date wasn’t able to be kept for various reasons and a lot of skepticism regarding the project was in the air. Despite all that, the tablet now seems ready to ship extremely soon. For those who don’t know, here are the written specs: 7 inch touchscreen 2 USB port 32 GB HD 2 GB RAM Wi-Fi Inbuilt keyboard Video conferencing facility Multimedia content Linux OS (could be Android) Open Office SciLab Option for Solar Charging Internet browsing We can’t help but be skeptical about how a 32 GB ‘hard drive’ and ‘2GB RAM’ can be included in such a cheap tablet. For starters, memory cards now come with capacities as high as 32GB , and even the high end tablets of today do not have 2GB of RAM. Different sources say that the 2GB may be the memory, which seems a bit more likely . Here is a hand on of the device on NDTV Gadget Guru . If you just want to see the device, skip to 7 minutes into the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=J7Jbjmcv_so ] The price of the tablet is going to be Rs. 2,200 and will not be available to the general public. It will be given to children in educational institutions, with the first 10,000 units going to Rajashthan . While this is great, we hope the Education Boards can quickly innovate and come up with ways to use the new device in their course syllabi so that the tablets aren’t just used to play Angry Birds ! There are also plans to produce another 90,000 units and sell at Rs. 2,200 . With such meager quantities being produced, we can see the tablets selling in the grey market for at least double. What do you think? After the Nano, can India pull of the first massively affordable tablet? Looking For A Social Media Agency?? – Contact WATConsult – India’s Leading Social Media Agency Related Posts India’s Tablet A Bitter Pill To Swallow?

Tagged as: cheap tablet india, country, gadget, government's pet project, leading-social, media, office, social, ultra-affordable laptop, video

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