RetailsDirect - Press Release and News Highlights

Tech giants unite against Google

Fri, 21 Aug 2009 06:06:48 UTC

Microsoft, Yahoo and Amazon are to join a coalition against Google's efforts to scan millions of books for a huge virtual library.

Pakistani players fixed matches with Indians during Lanka tour

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:35:04 UTC

The symbol of match fixing has initiated the disappearance of the craze about cricket among cricket lovers. This time it is the Pakistani players who are in this firing line of allegations about match fixing after a disastrous tour of Sri Lanka.

Former Pakistan chief selector Abdul Qadir has given alarming instructions that, Indian bookies are involved in this particular fixing with Pakistani players. Manager Saeed Yawar informed that Pakistani players were approached by suspicious Indians during their Sri Lankan tour.

Some sources within Pakistan Control Board informed Times Now about this approach of suspected Indian nationals to Pakistani players. These sources were following the team for the last three tours. PCB has taken action to sort out the issue. Actions would also be taken against Pakistan team manager in Sri Lanka, Saeed Yawar.

According to contradicting reports, Abdul Qadir accused the team of having fixed matches in Sri Lanka. The names of more and more Indian bookies in this case is the most disturbing part for ICC.

Abdul Qadir maintained his statement and confirmed the reports while talking with Times Now. He exclusively informed to Times Now that this it is a sensitive issue and, therefore, one has to be careful. He added that in wake of his statements turning out be correct ones or incorrect ones, he will deal with the problem in a professional manner.

Other than Qadir, agent of few Pakistani players Salman Ahmed also confirmed the reports. He also informed that he had seen Indian bookies during various tours and also during IPL.

Salman Ahmed stated that he can identify the people who were around when the Indian premier league was being held. They were the same people who were present when South Africa was playing in Pakistan. And then they were in Sri Lanka when Pakistan was playing its matches. These people were there when teams like Mumbai, Punjab or other teams was playing. These people were also present during the time of Asia Cup.

Cricket journalist of Sri Lanka, Rex Clementine also informed Times Now that there is nothing much to worry about. A few Indians were spotted at the place where Pakistan players were present. From that day, these reports are coming out. The situation will be alarming after it becomes official. Currently, no official confirmation of the claims have been made. The security around players is very tight. One cannot approach the players easily as they are being guarded by special forces.

Dabur launches nouvelle Ayurvedic skin care products

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:18:01 UTC

Dabur India Ltd. has a distinct dignity and position in the world of Ayurveda for the last 125 years. Now it has made its strategic entry into the market of premium skincare. Dabur has launched its new brand Dabur Uveda Skincare Expert from Ayurveda. This new brand of Dabur Uveda consists attributes like expert, effective, enduring, dynamic, stylish, mature and Indian. The face chosen to live up the attributes of this brand is that of the Bollywood actress Vidya Balan, who is a perfect choice for becoming the face of Dabur Uveda.

On the occasion of launching this brand, Mr. Vikas Mittal who is the Executive Vice President of Personal Care in Dabur India Ltd. stated that, while building on their heritage and commitment as a group, they have been on the forefront of launching a new brand in skincare.

'Dabur Uveda' skincare range has an array of products that has the wisdom of Ayurveda while being backed by strong research and is developed with an aim to improve the skin texture and the products belonging to this brand are, therefore, highly relevant for women today.

It is a known fact that life is on a fast track with long working hours and constant stress taking a drastic toll on the skin. As part of their larger thrust in the skincare segment this year, Dabur has introduced Dabur Uveda, an all new skincare ranges with the expertise in Ayurveda . The products featured in these ranges work from within for giving an inner glow but also nourish the skin with every use to give a fresh lease of life.

Dabur Uveda has brought alive its philosophy which states the following line: 'Beauty that glows from within'. The content of these products have herbal extracts derived from the mixture of Ayurvedic ingredients that are documented in the sacred Ayurvedic scriptures of Bhavprakash Nighantu. After intensive research, it is found that these ingredients are rich enough to enhance the skin tone and the texture. That is why they have been made in modern formats to make them relevant for today's women.

The products have passed the tests of German laboratories, where they have been found to be efficient and highly effective on skin. It is found (when tested on Indian consumers(who volunteered)) that these formulations are safe for the skin and don't have any side effects.

Ma Passion introduces the Monsoon Mambo collection

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:48:24 UTC

After being inspired by the refreshing monsoon in India, Ma Passion has launched its new Monsoon Mambo collection. The jewellery line has fancy and fine work with colours and designs that reflect the beginning of monsoon. Ma Passion is the creators of a rare gemstone sculpture and couture jewellery. The brand is celebrating the spirit of monsoon season with the gemstone necklaces set in 18cts gold, which defines their design artistry and scrupulous attention.

The collection consists of four individual pieces which are exclusively designed and hand carved by experienced 'karigars' under the supervision of Mr. Dinesh Poddar, MD Ma Passion, who is an expert in recognizing the quality of stones.

Mr. Poddar stated that most of the stones in this series have been sourced from Brazilian mines, except one which is from Madagascar. The necklaces in this series have been designed as jewellery for dance occasions. Each piece of this exquisite design appears to be dancing in tandem with the stones, diamonds and the wearer's neck. Since Mambo is a Latin American dance with African roots, they decided to call this series Monsoon Mambo.

The designers have used their vast experience and intimate understanding about the stones to design these unique pieces which reflects not only the workmanship, but also the feel and character of each piece
According to Harshad Ajoomed, Designer of the Monsoon Rose, these are not just mere stones. They are actually crystals that possess energy and vitality with the life of their own. Each piece has an inept quality so that it can be carved in a certain way. Set in diamond and 18cts gold, the combination is a lot more than just an aesthetic delight, it invigorates one’s soul.

It took 3 months to conceptualize and design each individual piece and karigars took 8-9 months to shape these stones. Overall 450 man-hours was spent to create these exquisite pieces.

The first jewellery piece is Dance of Desire which is set in 18cts gold, with rose gold polish. The centre piece of jewellery is an African Ruby which radiates an innocent glow and feel of tradition. The stone is from the rich mines of Longido, Tanzania and carved by Ashok Kumawat, the karigar from Jaipur.

The second piece is the Languid Cobalt Peacock Dance. The 6.74 cts rose cut diamonds embedded within 18 cts gold highlighting the deep blue colour of the Australian Opal and striking beauty of peacock's tail. The peacock is the nature's most beautiful symbol of the monsoon, has been designed to focus on the bird before it spreads its feathered tail to celebrate the monsoon.

The third category is of Radha - Krishna Monsoon Dance of Devotion. This is to celebrate this season of love and romance with eternal love story of Radha-Krishna. Gautam Banerjee, has invoked the devotional love through his creativity in 50 cts Cetrine stones.

The fourth jewellery is the Vines of Abundance which is made by carving Brazilian Emerald. Gautam Banerjee is the master designer behind this elegant piece studded with diamonds. The deep green of the emerald in piece signifies the fullness of the fruit.

Deficiency of vitamin D increases heart risk factors for kids

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:47:49 UTC

According to two new studies, the deficiency of vitamin D increases the incidence of risk factors for cardiovascular problems such as heart attack and strokes for the younger generation.

Both these theories were published on Aug 3 in an online edition of paediatrics. The lead authors of the report informed that the theories have used U.S. data from the National health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2001 to 2004. These theories are to spread information to young people about the possible effects of low vitamin D levels on cardiovascular risk.

Jared P. Reis had began his study when he was at Johns Hopkins University. According to him, studies have linked vitamin D deficiency to increase the risk in adults. There are very few studies that have looked upon whether if vitamin D can be associated with increased cardiovascular disease in children. Reis is now an epidemiologist in the division of cardiovascular sciences of the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Another study in this field was done by Dr. Michal L. Melamed, who is an assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at Albert Einstein college of Medicine in the Bronx. She stated that nobody questions that vitamin D deficiency causes rickets. They wanted to explore other health outcomes and noticed that nobody had described this outcome.

According to all these studies, the children with the lowest vitamin D levels were more likely to have higher blood pressure, high blood sugar levels and low blood levels of HDL cholesterol. It is not true that low levels of vitamin D early in life will translate into health problems in the adult years. But, for a person who has hypertension at an age of 20 will have to deal with this consequence up to 60 years.

According to Reis, the results of deficiency of vitamin D in children should not panic parents, he believe that his study needed additional research. His study is observational and they need additional studies to confirm it. Instead of giving supplements, parents should emphasize on their children to get a 15 minute exposure to sunlight or make them drink more and more milk, bread and other wheat products. Parents need to focus more on modifiable risk factors.

BlackBerry to introduce a front facing camera

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:47:11 UTC

BlackBerry will soon be adding a front facing camera on its devices, similar to many handsets like Nokia which have front facing cameras, where supposedly the picture quality is not that good. This feature will be useful to those who are very fond of video conferencing. BlackBerry is basically more of a corporate device, so, the addition of a front facing camera makes sense as well.

According to its tradition, RIM always believed in churning some specific model with different features as people did not get to enjoy the option of enjoying several features in one device. Whereas, Nokia's N-series contains almost everything and every enhanced feature.

RIM has recently announced its intentions to launch a handset with a front facing camera. The media expects that this announcement has stirred a hornets nest over at BlackBerry fan sites.

The official of RIM has also informed that the device should be launched out by next year. That means, users have a full six months before getting another phase of rumours, leaked pictures and spy shots.

The idea of the front facing camera is fantastic, but video calling or conferencing is not a very popular activity among users. There might be a subsection of users who would actually want to use this feature.

A life time achievement award for Asha Parekh and Dharmendra.

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:43:52 UTC

Evergreen personalities, Dharmendra and Asha Parekh who are veterans of Bollywood as actors, producers and even politics, were both honoured with a lifetime achievement award during the second golden camera awards at the Nashik International Film Festival (NIFF).

The festival season was from 30th July to 2nd August in Dadasaheb Phalke's home town, where Dharmendra was honoured by the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Chhagan Bhujbal, while a memento and citation was presented to Asha Parekh by Devisingh Shekhavat on 2nd august, which was the last day of the festival.

After recalling his association with Nashik, Dharmendra said that he was overwhelmed as he was being felicitated at the birth place of the late Dadasaheb Phalke, father of Indian cinema. Asha Parekh motivated people to enjoy their life and stay united.

Festival Director Mukesh Kaneri, actor Shekhar Suman, veteran actress Shammi, child artist Avika Gaur, State Minister for Health Shobha Bachhav and NCP MP Sameer Bhujbal were also present for this occasion and enjoyed the end of the festive season of 2009.

'Iron Man' sequel to be released soon

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:25:58 UTC

The director of 'Iron Man 2', Jon Favreau has disclosed the footage on Saturday for expansion and cross-pollination for a Marvel franchises. They informed that they were not only talking about a sequence of Iron Man 2 but an epic on Marvel comic characters . He screened the exclusive Iron Man 2 footage as a hint to a mega-Marvel collaboration.

In the crowd of 6000, Favreau informed that they wanted to move Iron Man 2's plot to where they could eventually arrive at a story for 'The Avengers'. The Avengers is an all-star team of Marvel superheroes: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, The Hulk and even the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman.

In front of his fans, he informed that he had been watching the preparation work that Kenneth Branagh has been doing on Thor. And he would love to work on a project like The Avengers. Favreau had noticed Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel production, was not looking so delighted with the success of the Iron Man franchise, who was seated next to him.

So lets take a view of other things that could be happened at one of the most hyped-up panels of Comic-Con :

Favreau opened the promo of about 90 seconds along with Robert Downey Jr. on stage, who had criticized Favreau for showing such a weak footage. The promo showed two main scenes. The first one was a wild and bad-tempered Tony Stark chewing on dough nuts with Nick Fury that is Samuel L. Jackson.

The second scene in the trailer was of Stark, who is testifying before a Senate committee about his possession of a secret super weapon. Robert Downey was at his best and most brilliant in this scene. Stark was outfitted with pinstripes and trademark sarcasm and demanded the Senate to thank him, not prosecute him, for maintaining 'world peace.'

The screaming crowd's reaction at this action promo, judged the expectations of audience about Iron Man 2.

Nikon to launch first D-SLR zone in South India

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:25:24 UTC

Nikon India which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of camera manufacturer Nikon and has recently launched its Nikon professional D-SLR camera in Bangalore along with Mumbai and Delhi. It is the first of its kind which Nikon has opened in Southern India. The company is continuously looking forward and it has aimed to open 25 similar outlets across India by the end of this year.

Hidehiko Tanaka, MD of Nikon India, informed the media that the launch of the Nikon D-SLR zone in Bangalore was a major step towards strengthening their brand. They are positive that this initiative of Nikon will be received well by the consumers in Bangalore.

He further added that, the Southern market contributes around 28 per cent of the overall sales of Nikon in India, out of which Karnataka alone contributes nine per cent. Hyderabad contributes seven per cent while the combination of Tamil Nadu, Kerela & Andra Pradesh contributes around 12 per cent.

Makoto Kimura, director of Nikon Corporation Japan, informed the media that India was an important market for them and they were happy to announce that Nikon India hopes to surpass its targets set for 2010 in this year (2009) itself. Nikon India is a great motivator for Nikon to enhance their commitment in terms of new product launches, distribution networks, product zones and service centres.

To further improve the buying experience, Nikon is targeting to open 800 retail outlets for in store branding and planning to hire 200 in store promoters in the current financial year.

Apparel retailers to follow strategies to recover from slowdown

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:24:30 UTC

Big retailers and suppliers are in trouble. Their financial problems are growing day by day. The monetary conditions of small and medium retailers are going worse. Suppliers who provide products to big garment manufacturers and retail chains are also the part of this loss.

After summing all the issues of these industries, the conclusion is the shortage of merchandise, cost cuttings, shut downs and lay offs.

With a downfall in the economy, apparel retailers are facing a slippery slope. Retailers are now offering exclusive merchandise, and focusing more on customer service. They are following the criteria to enhance the customer's understanding, individuality and innovative ideas which needs to be utilized to employ creative tactics.

To satisfy the requirements of their customers by providing them good service and to increase their sales figure, retailers are following various strategies. High end shops such as Coach, Saks, and Neiman Marcus will keep more mid priced merchandises in their stores, whereas, brands like Target, Wal-Mart, and Home Depot will separate their brands.

The denim specialist Levi Strauss, does not effect themselves by this currency fluctuations and decline in sales as it has recently acquired 73 stores all over the US and will continue its investment in brands

Shoaib strikes controversy yet again

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:23:27 UTC

The Pakistan Cricket Board issued its fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar a show-cause notice for violating the terms of his central contract with them. Shoaib, who always seems to hit controversies has now ran into more trouble.

It was confirmed by sources in the board that, the show-cause notice was signed by the Director of Cricket Operations, Zakir Khan, which was sent to Shoaib two days ago. The notice is to charge him with violating three clauses of his central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Shoaib has until July 31 to submit his reply. The board will penalize him if they are not satisfied with his reply. He informed to a television channel that he would give an answer after consulting his lawyers and will prove those charges wrong that were made against him.

Such incidents has happened so many times before for the fast bowler who has hardly played any matches in the last two and half years due to fitness and disciplinary problems.

The two appeals that are challenging an 18-month ban and a fine of seven million Pakistani rupees imposed on him by an appellate tribunal of the board last year in June are still under hearing by the Lahore High Court. The appellate tribunal had reduced the five-year ban imposed by the disciplinary committee of the board early last year.

The fast bowler has played 46 Tests and 144 one day Internationals. He appeared recently in a television talk show and claimed that he had thought about suing the board for releasing his medical report before the T20 World Cup.

He also accused the team management for wrongly dropping him from the team for the T20 World Cup. A medical panel of the board found out that he was suffering from 'genital viral warts' and needed the rest for at least 12 days. Because of this the panel had left him out of the squad.

Gaganjeet's first Asian Tour title

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:22:40 UTC

Now is the time for Gaganjeet Bhullar to grow as a top class player and to maintain his terrific form. The 21-year-old golf player made his first Asian Tour title on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the Indonesia President Invitational with a score of five-under 67 for a total of 22-under 266. Bhullar was not able to describe how happy he felt. His career was taking a downhill road for the last few years, but now, in the year 2009, he has turned his fortunes. He got his first title in his own country in March and from that time onwards he has been winning again and again. He played his best game at the Asian field to qualify for the British Open. He expressed his feelings to 'Indian Express' over phone that he gives all the credit of his performance this season to the amount of big games he got to play last season. He maintains that the four international tournaments that India hosted last year were also great, as it gave youngsters a lot of confidence about their skills against the bigger players. He also shared some unhappy memories. Last year, as a fresher in the Asian Tour, Bhullar had almost got his breakthrough win. It become unfortunate for the youngster, when Philippines's Juvic Pagunsan finished with a birdie and an eagle, resulting to a heartbreak for the Indian. Bhullar was in the clubhouse again on Sunday, watching chaser Blyth, playing behind him after the Australian finished his third round in the early morning. According to Bhullar, he was feeling a little uncomfortable, thinking about what had happened then. But he had a slightly bigger lead at present, and though Juvic had done something brilliant back in 2007, there was a lot of relief in the end. Bhullar shared some of his major experiences as well saying, he felt that he could go on a driving range and see Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, which would make a great difference to his career. His victory will also guarantee a start in better tournaments along with his name in the top-ten of the Order of Merit. Bhullar informed that he hoped to make the most of that. For starters, he will qualify for the Switzerland co-sanctioned event. He might also get an entry to the final stage of the European Tour qualifying school, which will depend on his Asian Tour standings.

Fashionable purses from old recycled fire hoses

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:22:02 UTC

We are all aware of the bravery, toughness and courage of fire-fighters who risks their lives to extinguish fire and save lives, but do we know what happens to the fire hoses once they become old. A new and creative application where old fire hoses are being recycled to make fashionable handbags and other accessories is now being implied. These accessories are now emerging as trendy items in the market. These accessories are completing two requirements to the environment, that is trendy as well as ecological. These hoses are recycled and are used creatively for making beautiful and elegant handbags, wallets, and belts. By using different mechanisms, the dirt and grime from the hose is removed and after this the hoses undergo a green process where it transforms the ‘once’ fire hoses into classic handbags. The mechanism of recycling takes place up to some level and at different levels, where we get different components which are used for different purposes. The basic material is used to make accessories and the supplementary materials from other recycled sources are used for other purposes. This green process of recycling has given new life and use to old fire hoses. These products are eco friendly and at the same time satisfy the want of the buyer.

Evil Kitty reveals its new collection

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:56:08 UTC

Evil Kitty has now come up with a new and exciting locally-produced affordable range of designs. It is an independent brand for young women and it presents to its customers with new arrivals. The collection has been designed while keeping Evil Kitty customers in mind. The head designer of Evil Kitty, Lidia Wachowska has created interesting and unique pieces of clothing for a fraction of the price for other labels. According to Lidia Wachowska, the company had managed to keep the prices down and at the same time use a local manufacturer. She maintains that women who wear Evil Kitty designs will look and feel great. Women know that its designs will make them stand out in the crowd. They also know that they are supporting a socially responsible company. Items are more subtle and feminine with strong colours and prevalent graphics, which is more interesting and playful. This trendy collection consists of t-shirts, mini skirts, hoodies and dresses. Graphics incorporate all the basic Evil Kitty logos that are reconstructed. "Hooded Dresses" are basically a combination of designs derived from previous mini dresses and pullover hoodies. U.S. is a supplier of all the fabric items. Along with this collection, a subsidiary of Evil Kitty that is "Evil Necklace” has created a piece of jewellery in collaboration with an independent artist, Janet Masamitsu from janetjewelry.com. The designs of Evil Kitty are punk and playful, which makes them stand apart from other contemporary lines. It feels proud to create unique pieces in a socially conscious way, because they emphasis mainly on quality and sustainability. The designs of this brand are basically for strong and independent women who want to stand out in the crowd. According to Lidia, she has been in touch with her loyal followers. She took their likes and dislikes into consideration while designing this small collection. She thinks that, women will enjoy the new designs as well as the prices.

A house for 20 million pounds bought by SRK in London.

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:55:39 UTC

The king khan is sure dwelling in financial bliss these days. Recently he spend 20 million pounds in order to buy an apartment for himself in London and that too in an area which is known to be one of the posh areas of London.

London is certainly turning out to be a second home for the superstar who makes a good amount of trips here all around the year. He, recently was awarded a doctorate by the well known university of Bedfordshire in view of his efforts in bringing Indian cinema on the global platform.

The area in which Mr. Khan has bought the house for himself is known as Park Lane and it is present in the central part of London. He, therefore, adds this house to his list of houses all over the world.

Currently the actor is engaged in shooting for his upcoming film titled “My name is Khan”.

Next has raised its profit estimation by £30m

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 03:27:29 UTC

Next, proclaimed in what can be called as an early trading update to the market, that it had performed better, owning to improved clearance rates and 'better than estimated' full price trading. According to Next the total sales grew 1.4 per cent in the 25 weeks to July 18 with like-for-like sales down by 1.9 per cent.

Next stated that it has added a further £15m to their internal profit forecast for the first half as a result of better full price Next Retail sales and improved clearance rates.

Next added that they have also added £15m to their internal profit forecast for the second half. The reason for this is that product negotiations and sourcing had gone better than planned and this is bound to positively impact its second half gross margin.

The good weather has benefited the recent sales. Next estimates that a rise in the temperature has improved retail sales by a figure lying between two per cent and three per cent.

Next noticed that sales of like-for-like is not as much as its was in the first half. It is estimated that sales in its second half will be between -3.5 percent and -6.5 percent because of unfavourable weather conditions.

Next informed that although it does see any effective reason leading to a change in the consumer sentiment in the second half of the year, however, it also does not expect the consumer sentiment to get worse. It maintains that growing swine flu infection rates could have a negative effect on shopping.

Growth of Morrisons in the Grocery Market

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:38:38 UTC

Morrisons reported that it is confident about its full-year results. It has achieved strong trading in its first quarters and said that this growth had been maintained through the second quarter.

The above quote happening has been proved by Morrisons after the grocery market share figures for 12 weeks as displayed on July 12. The sales of Morrisons has increased by 9.5 per cent and market share rose from 0.4 per cent to 11.6 per cent.

According to the latest TNS Worldpanel grocery research, both Asda and Sainsbury have seen an increase in their sales with the former one having a growth rate of 8.1 percent and the latter one having a growth rate of 7.7 percent.

Both have gained 0.3 per cent to 17 percent and 16 percent respectively.

Compared to these figures, the rate at which the sales of Tesco has grown (in the same period) has been 5.7 percent. Therefore, the market share of this company remained the same (at 30.8 percent) when compared to its standing last year.

Waitrose stood at the second spot right below Morrisons with having done quite well. Its performance can be adjudged quantitatively in terms of its growth figure of 8.2 percent.

There was a decline in the growth rate of the discount grocers, Aldi and Lidl remain ahead of the sector average by growing strongly by 8.7 percent and 7.5 percent respectively.

According to the estimation of Nielsen, the grocery figures are estimated to witness a triple increase in the next 4 weeks to July 11. the increase shall be around 6.6 percent. The reason for this improvement is being seen as the probable strong sales especially in the sectors of soft drinks, fresh foods, and general merchandise.

A gripping novel by Liz Balmaseda

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:16:27 UTC

Liz Balmaseda's new novel “Sweet Mary”, which has been published by Atria books contains 242 pages of absolute delight. The story of the book is based upon a single mother and a real estate agent Mary Guevara.

Mary is a woman who gets wrongly accused of being a cocaine queen. Due to this she looses her job, reputation and the worst of all things to come, she looses custody of her son. Though the charges are dropped it is hard to for her to reclaim her name as suspicions still lingered. Being in a state where she has nothing to loose, Mary goes out in a man hunt, to search for the real cocaine queen.

Liz Balmaseda is the winner of the Pulitzer prize. She describes a brief introduction of her story which is based on a true story which took place around the year 2003.

In this novel, Mary becomes a non-professional agent from an outraged mother. The ending of this novel is not so surprising and somewhat has the likes of a Hollywood climax.

Lack of sleep is bound to cause postpartum depression

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:16:01 UTC

According to a published report, women who don't sleep well after their pregnancy tend to suffer from depression. Poor sleep increases the chances of postpartum depression or postnatal depression.

Dr. Signe Karen Dorheim of Stavanger University Hospital wrote on his report that, women facing postnatal issues takes poor sleep in the early periods after their child delivery, rather than the pregnancy period and other different periods of reproductive age. Because of this factor, postpartum women have more chances of increasing the risk of depression.

2830 women, who delivered their children at Stavanger University Hospital between October 2005 and September 2006, were studied under Dr. Dorheim's group. These reports say that the average sleep of all those women were about 6.5 hours per night.

Previous sleep problems, being a first time mother, having a young infant, not exclusively breast feeding, stressful life events etc. are also associated with the risk factor of depression.

Dorheim told Reuters Health that, tiredness felt after delivery can be imputed to poor sleep but when one feels like the energy is being drained out of her during the daytime is probably caused by depression.

Dorheim added that the sleeping hours of any particular family will be affected because of the new born baby.

Moreover, it is very important for a father and other family members to support a mother if she is getting depressed or is experiencing day time tiredness. Family members must care for the baby at night and allow the mother to have a good tight sleep.

LG Application store to début on 14th Jul

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:15:33 UTC

Application stores have become really common nowadays. Apple started the concept of the applications and now it has been copied, reformed and presented in several names and formats by several well known leading companies such as reliance India mobile, Microsoft and Nokia.

The Korean cell phone company has decided to touch the application store fray. Though, its Application store was already in Korea, it still wants to widen its fame. The company has decided to release its Application store in Malaysia, sing pore and Australia as well.

The "LG Application Store" will provide more than 1400 Application stores at its initial stage. The hundred Application stores out of 1400 Application stores will be free of cost. This application store has the expectation of releasing across world wide by the end of the year 2009. After that, 200 more applications are expected to be launched for LG mobile handsets.

8 more matches of the 2011 Cricket World Cup to be hosted by India

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:14:52 UTC

The 2011 World Cup Central Organising Committee suggested that India should host eight cricket matches out of fourteen cricket matches which were originally scheduled to take place in Pakistan.

The Central Organising Committee met with ICC Board in Mumbai. The COC recommended that all of the 14 matches should not be held in India but a few of them should be held in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Earlier, Pakistan was one of the host countries, but considering the security and safety situations in Pakistan, the COC has decided to schedule some of the matches away from there.

The COC stated that Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would be hosting the remaining 6 matches (4 in Sri Lanka and 2 in Bangladesh).

It has been prematurely decided that, India will be hosting 29 matches, Sri Lanka will be hosting 12 matches, while Bangladesh will host only 8 matches.

The COC will forward its recommendation to the Indian Cricket Council Board for the ultimate approval. The Central Organising Committee has decided that Mumbai will be the Tournament's secretariat.

The Chief administrative officer of Board of control for cricket in India, Ratnakar Shetty, had appointed the tournament director.

Ratnakar Shetty stated that, they had a good and productive meeting. Though they had to endure a lot of hard work they were confident enough of being on the right direction. Operational plans will be more effective from August and onwards. He further added that, the COC would be holding meetings on a frequent and proportionate basis.

The quarter finals, semi finals and the finals will be held in India. Bangladesh will stage two quarter final matches, while Sri Lanka will host one quarter final matches..

Clothing line designed by MJ to be released soon

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:14:20 UTC

The clothing line which was designed and innovated by Pop music star Michael Jackson has now been launched in the United States. This line occupies the '300-piece' collection of accessories and clothing. A signature red jacket is included in this clothing line. This red jacket is inspired by the garb which was worn by the Pop music king in his landmark video 'Thriller'.

Handbags, wine glasses, tea seats, handbags, belt buckles, sleep masks etc. are few of the more unusual accessories that are included in this fine collection.

The Pop king also helped in designing many of the item accessories that were supposed to be released along with Michael Jackson's tour in London.

MJ had approved a line of official merchandise in June for his die hard fans. This clothing line is going to be sold online as well as at retailers in the U.S. like Target and JC Penney.

Sony launches 32GB memory stick

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:13:53 UTC

As per Sony's IT Product Overview for 2009, it has launched the largest-ever capacity Memory Stick 'PRO-HG Duo HX'. This memory stick has a storage capacity of 32GB.

Memory Stick HX has always delivers high speed, so the introduction of a 32GB version makes it the perfect choice for handling files which require large storage space. The large space is also useful for still images, whether you are using a sophisticated DSLR like the Sony or a compact Cybershot.

Apart from all this, Sony has also introduced a 16GB Memory Stick 'PRO Duo Mark2 memory card'.

This new memory card has the capability to work up to 3.75 hours of full HD footage. It also contains a USB adapter of 20 MB/s, read speed and write speeds of 15MB/s.

Its features are :
Highest available capacity – 32GB comes to Memory Stick HX family.
Super-fast 20MB/second data transfer significantly shortens the wait.
Perfect for High Definition camcorders – or anyone handling large volumes of images

Sony is also providing customers with a free USB adapter with the memory cards featured with 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities. With this high performance, high capacity card, Sony is now getting ready to compete with other memory card manufacturers like SanDisk and Kingston.

At this moment, Sony has not disclosed any information about the pricing and availability of these memory cards.

The wrath of rabies to decrease in India within 10 years

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:13:14 UTC

Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Environment and Forest has assured people to make India a country, which is free from rabies within the next ten years.

Recently, Mr. Ramesh released a book about animal birth control. After this release, he informed that the government had taken up the issue of rabies control as a challenge and allotted Rs. 200 corer for the project. He added that, the animal birth control programme for stray dogs and their effective anti-rabies immunization would be implemented seriously.

He also informed that, in order to protect all animals from this disease, the country would import Rs. 400 corer worth of rabies vaccine every year.

He suggested that to work efficiently, a rabies free road map and a mission document should be prepared by the government. This process must include the over all cost, role of state governments, civic and local bodies, organizational plan and all this should be done with a target, so that they can achieve it in 10 years.

Taylor Swift to perform theatrics for the 2009 MTV VMA

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:12:45 UTC

America's best new artist Taylor Swift attended her first VMA last year and was shocked at being nominated as the 'Best New Artist' at the MTV Video Music Awards. She is now working hard, almost double time, and his justifying her name as the best new artist nominee and the fashion correspondent for MTV News' red-carpet pre-show. Swift will be one of the big performers on the night of the VMA for 2009, which will once again be hosted by Russel Brand on September 13. She informed that she would hit the stage at the VMA with an updated version of her new single, 'You Belong With Me'. She stated that she was really excited about the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards and the fact that she had been invited to perform. She lost her Moonman to Tokio hotel last year, but she is still going to pull out all the stops to attract the audience this year. She stated that, she loved the idea about incorporating theatrics into her performances, and the VMA have always allowed artists to run with that. She also stated that, MTV has been really good to her and she could not be more excited about this year's VMAs.

Close friend to release a book on Fawcett's journal next month

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:12:19 UTC

A close friend of the late Farrah Fawcett will soon be publishing her personal diaries next month. It is said that the diary contains the descriptions about the actress's three-year struggle with cancer.

The book will launch on August 11 2009, less than two months after Fawcett's eternal sleep. This book will be named as 'My Journey with Farrah: A Story of Life, Love and Friendship,' by Alana Stewart. The book is thought to be the first inside look at Fawcett's illness.

Rod Stewart's ex-wife, Alana and Fawcett have been together for the last 30 years. Alana was encouraged to to print the diary by Fawcett herself and by Ryan O'Neal, who starred in the movie 'Love Story' and was also Fawcett's long time companion.

Stewart stated that, Farrah had originally encouraged her to write this book. However, while she was contemplating her decision, Farrah's health took a turn for the worse and she could no longer seek Farrah's advice. She then turned to Ryan O'Neal for help.

Ryan was very positive and supportive about the idea and emphasized her to go according to her plans. He motivate her by making her aware that, there would be lots of people writing books about her, but one that would be written by Alana would be the truth, and it would also be a wonderful tribute to her.

A portion of this process will go to the Farrah Fawcett Foundation to support cancer research.

Fawcett told her own story in a heart-touching video diary of her last three years that was broadcasted on U.S. television in May as the actress entered the final few weeks of her life at her home in Los Angeles. Alana Stewart's book will be published by William Morrow, a unit of Harper Collins which is owned by News Corp.

Catherine Lockerbie is stepping out as the book festival director

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:11:50 UTC

Catherine Lockerbie, the director of the famous Edinburgh International Book Festival is resigning after nine years. In her nine year long service, she has helped in making this event one of the top literary gatherings of its kind in the world.

Currently, Lockerbie is not in the best of her health. She handed over the responsibility for this year's festival to Richard Holloway as the interim director.

The organizers of the festival informed that, the search was under way for a new director and hopefully in time to shape the 2010 event, which attracts around 200,000 visitors annually.

Lockerbie stated that, she would not be working in the main stream but, take the role of a consultant on the impact of literature, culture and festivals at home and abroad.

She also stated that, it was obvious that she would be leaving with considerable sadness, but also with intense pride and optimism.

Margaret Atwood, a very famous Canadian Author, will be launching her new novel 'The Year of the Flood' in the festival this year. She is a big fan of Lockerbie and admires her passion and dedication that she shows towards this event.

This year's festival will be held in the city centre from August 15 to August 31, along with the Edinburgh International Arts Festival and Fringe.

Laptop cooling solutions by Logitech

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:11:17 UTC

Logitech has introduced its new 'Cooling Pad N100'. It is useful to those, who are very concerned about the issues regarding the overheating of laptops. The heating of a laptop increases its operational temperature which may cause burning, so regarding this, the cooling pad has been developed to prevent any laptop from heating up. The main reason for developing such a device is because a laptop's fan is unable to sufficiently cool the laptop.

In laptops and notebooks, the components are very closed to each other, which quickly heats up the system. So, the cooler will move direct heat away from the laptop. Some coolers rely on thermal conductivity of materials.

To maintain a cool temperature, the USB-powered fan has to distribute air quietly and evenly around your notebook. This process is performed by the N100 which improves airflow and comes with a slotted surface. This in turn, protects the human skin from facing discomforts caused by the over heated notebook.

Logitech stated that, to create a steady unobstructed airflow, the Cooling Pad N100 uses rear air intake unlike other cooling pads, which generate airflow from angles that are easily blocked by the laptop itself, or loose articles of clothing.

The company also claims that the N100 offers a low power-consumption USB cable that a user can easily connect with its computer with minimal impact on their notebook's battery, while still delivering enough power to improve airflow around the laptop.

Bernadine introduces its Lattice Collection.

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:07:19 UTC

One of California's most reputed company, Bernadine Design Co., has recently launched a new range of jewellery made of diamonds and gold, and it has been titled as 'The Lattice Collection'. The concept has been derived from photographs of the complicated architecture of ancient Chinese windows. The origin of this concept comes from a small village near Shanghai. White, champagne, brown and black diamonds have been employed in 18-karate jewellery items, while yellow, rose and white gold has been incorporated in collection items of necklace pendants, earrings and rings.

This collection is now available in stores which are situated in Burlingame and California, and it can also be viewed online. Jewellery purchased from the Lattice Collection comes with an innovative idea. The 2-in-1 redwood display box that can also be used as a home décor item. The top layer features a display which is made for the jewellery piece and the back layer offers a hidden storage as well as materials and photographs in the Lattice Collection.

Miss. Bernadine stated that, she was feeling proud and excited to launch the Lattice Collection and was very pleased with how well she was able to honour the original oriental art through jewellery. She also stated that, after years of travelling around the world, she was so moved by the stunning, intricate lines of the Chinese windows and couldn't wait to design a collection around that idea.

Bernadine has been designing jewellery since 2001. She had opened her own gallery in 2008 and took unique inspiration from her international photography. Initially, she was not too familiar about fine art photography, but later, after travelling around the world with her Nikon D700, in the search of beautiful architectural achievements and breathtaking settings finally evolved emotions to inspire her art.

Bernadine cleverly utilizes innovative and sometimes risky methods to capture the essence of her photography in the form of jewellery by integrating different and very rare diamonds, and complicated patterns to create a specific look for each piece.

Opera Mini touches the sky

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:09:28 UTC

The internet browsing software 'Opera' has been showing rapid growth, especially in its mobile browser 'Opera Mini'. Now, Opera has launched its latest browser, called “state of the mobile web”. Google is the dominating search engine that works on this browser, but T]there are minor aberrations in countries like Russia and China. Here, Google has tough competitions with other search engines like Baidu and Yandex respectively from Russia and china.

According to a report, Opera Mini has around 24.5 million strong users and every year, an increment of 8.4 per cent can be seen on a plotted graph. All the users of Opera Mini has viewed over 9.6 billion pages and this is a increase in data from May 2008. A rapid growth of 245 per cent is also seen in the traffic.

The one beautiful feature of Opera Mini that, the data which is transmitted into the phone is compressed before being downloaded, saving a lot of memory space. The users of Opera Mini has increased in India and now Ukraine lags behind India. However, since May 2008, a large growth of 531 per cent in the number of page views has been seen in India.

Nokia 5130, Nokia N70, Nokia N73, Nokia 6300 and Nokia 3110C are five top class mobile handsets of Nokia which include this browser.

The only other handset apart form Nokia which includes this software is Sony Ericsson's W200i.

The transaction of Dabur India limited and Fem Care

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:08:54 UTC

Dabur India limited is one of India's top FMCG companies. According to a company press release, Dabur has acquired female skin care product major, Fem Care Pharmacy limited. Due to this collaboration, Fem Care has become an additional part of Dabur India limited. The agreement was authorized by the board members of both the companies in Mumbai.

Fem care pharmacy is well known for its fairness bleach cream, hair removing cream and liquid soap hand wash. This company has not only established its feats in India but also in Yemen, Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, Oman and UAE.

The Chief Executive Officer of Dabur India Ltd., Sunil Duggal stated that, with this agreement, Dabur now has a solid establishment in the market as a leader of Indian consumer goods, because of such products like hair care products, skin care products, oral care products, foods and health care products. He further stated that this acquisition was a the part of their policy to increase the growth rate in their FMCG business.

He added that, apart from the high growth rate, the transaction of Fem Care and Dabur India limited is beneficial for both of them. With a well established brand company (Fem Care), Dabur will get a big and strong platform to launch its new products in the market.

Bengaluru: Second Xtreme Sports Bar.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:07:19 UTC

The people of Bengaluru (Bangalore), now gets to experience more fun while viewing their favourite sport, after the opening of the second Xtreme Sports Bar (XSB). This sports bar covers a region of 9000 square feet and is located at Spar Hypermarket on Bannerghatta Road.

This Sports Bar is the second Xtreme Sports Bar in the city. It was launched on 25th June 2009, six months after the launch of the first sports bar, which is located in Indiranagar, Bengaluru.

The bar XSB is completely sporty and has a canteen which includes a variety of foods. Any dish, be it continental, Indian or Chinese, is served to two people, for a fee of Rs. 475.

Two enterprising men, Arjun Valluri and Dheeraj Keswani, started the chain of Xtreme Sports Bar. After succeeding in their objectives in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Gurgaon, they are now planning to expand this chain in other metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh and Kolkata.

Nokia introduces the new N86 in India

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:06:33 UTC

The new 'Nokia N86', which was launched world wide on the first week of June, has now finally been launched in India. The handset was introduced to India on the 25th of June 2009. The handset includes an 8 Mega Pixel camera and has a memory card of 8 GB. The memory can expand up to 16 GB with the aid of a compatible Micro SD card. The most striking factor of this handset is its amazing 8 mega pixel camera with a Carl Zeiss Tessar lens. The new 'Nokia N86' includes a large 2.6 inches QVGA AM OLED screen as well.

This technically beautiful mobile handset can compete with two other mobile handsets, the 'Samsung Innov8' and the 'Sony Ericsson C905' regarding its 8 mega pixel camera. It provides a talk time of 3.9 hours on 3G, while it provides 6.3 hours on a GSM network. This handset costs Rs. 27,359 and will be available in any mobile store.

Nokia, has cleared its intentions after launching the handset (Nokia N86), that it wants to be the leading company among all mobile handset producers, and also wants to be ahead of the race when it comes to new technologies, designs, touch screen and camera phones.

A new vaccine to prevent ear infections for children

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:58:38 UTC

A pain free vaccination has been developed by U.S. Researchers. This vaccine can thwart ear infections which children suffer from. Generally, antibiotics are used for the treatment of ear infections. Often, surgery is also recommended for small kids with recurrent ear infections.

Lauren Bakaletz, director of the Centre for Microbial Pathogenesis in the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, stated that, in a news release from the hospital, the offensive nature of the surgical procedure and the emergence of antibiotic resistant micro-organisms raise the requirement of developing different methods to treat.

On testing chinchillas (class of rodents), Bakaletz and her colleagues say that a different kind of ear liquid (ear drop) can prevent ear infection. They said that it was highly effective on chinchillas. This vaccine eliminates or reduces the NTHI (a bacteria which is responsible for ear infections).

Bakaletz said that these studies are fundamental methods to prevent or treat ear infections through an inexpensive, effective and yet a simple way. She wants that the way of applying the vaccine on children's skin allows them to deal with poor children across the globe.

Ear infection is the most common and the most frequent disease amongst Children whose age are not more than 15 years. Before the age of 3 years, more than 80 percent of children suffer from the ear infection in U.S.

New recycling label released by Retailers

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:57:56 UTC

For the first time, customers are provided with standard information that packaging can be recycled.

A string of major suppliers and retailers were already devoted to take part in this project. Those who form and produce packaged items and products, like the retailers and the suppliers are being encouraged to take part.

The credit of initiating recycling goes to the UK household recycling rates. They gave the information to the customers about the materials that can be recycled.

Under the company 'OPRL' (On-Pack Recycling Label) Limited, the scheme was operated by the 'BRC' (British Retail Consortium). WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) finds the labelling category of each and every packaging material.

The on-pack recycling label has three categories:
1.Not currently recycled
2.Widely recycled
3.Check local recycling

BRC director, General Stephen Robertson has stated that retailers have taken the lead in generating new recycling labels. They know about the relationship with their customers that they are distinctly placed to help human beings to do the right thing.

Environment minister Jane Kennedy had said that he admired the retailing sector for taking up this initiative. He added that through standardising information, which is provided to the shoppers, the new recycling labels had made the things convenient for them to know what they can recycle. These recycling labels has helped them to recycle more things.

Two Stalkers of Sania Mirza busted

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:57:02 UTC

In Hyderabad, two love struck teenage guys were arrested by the police for stalking Sania Mirza.

On Thursday, 9th July 2009, the police arrested Ajay Singh Yadav because he tried to raft into Sania's house to let Sania know about his love for her. Ajay was aware that she was engaged to Sohram Mirza.

Police stated that, Ajay Singh Yadav arrived in Hyderabad in the morning of 9th July and demanded to see her. Despite being warned by the police, he didn't leave her house.

Police personal found out about Yadav's background through his identity card which notes that he is a student of an engineering college in Noida (U.P.).

After arresting Yadav, another case escalated, regarding a boy named Mohammad Ashraf. He was also an engineering student, but from Kerala.

Ashraf tried to threaten to commit suicide if Sania Mirza's engagement was not cancelled out.

Ajay Yadav has to appear in court while Mohammad Ashraf has been sent to judicial custody for two weeks.

Wii Sports Resort top the charts in Japan

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:56:02 UTC

According to Famitsu data, Nintendo’s Wii Sport Resort game sold 353,827 copies in just four days, following its launch on 25th June. The game has been topping the Japanese software charts from end of June to the first week of July.

153,000 copies had been sold in second week in Japan. According to the Media (Create data), they have planned to release this software on July 24 in Europe, with a single Motion Plus accessory.

It is charted ahead of two new PSP entries. Sega’s rhythm game, 'Hatsune Miku: Project Diva', cleared 100,000 sales in its début week, while 'Boku no Natsuyasumi 4', which is the latest title in SCE’s casual adventure series, entered in third place after selling 57,000 copies.

The top ten games that were awarded with PSP titles included three which are for DS, two for Wii and one for PS3. The latest addition of this series, 'Monster Hunter 3', will release in Japan for Wii on August 1. It has become the first PSP game to ship 3.5 million units.

The only new game to make the top 30 was EA Sports: Grand Slam Tennis for Wii, which entered at 21 with 4,300 sales.
Here are some of the top new games. Some of them will launch soon :
153,000 copies of Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo, Wii) sold out of 507,000.
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva (Sega, PSP) is a new one and 101,000 copies of it has been sold.
Another new game is Boku no Natsuyasumi 4 (SCE, PSP) and no of its sold copies are 57,000.
Tomodachi Collection (Nintendo, DS) – sold copies are 51,000 out of 221,000.
Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (Square Enix, DS) - 14,000 / 477,000
12000 are sold of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, PSP the Best (Capcom, PSP) out of 807,000.
Ken to Mahou to Gakuen Mono 2 (Acquire, PSP) -no of sold copies of this game are 12,000 out of 58,000
Atelier Rorona: Arland no Renkinjutsushi (Gust, PS3) – sold copies are 11,000 out of 59,000.
Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 11,000 out of 3,444,000
Sloane to MacHale no Nazo no Monogatari (Level 5, DS) - 9,900 out of 149,000.

Swimwear World launches a new collection of bathing suits

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:55:23 UTC

Swimwear World has launched its latest stock of fabulous and luxury swimming costumes from top grade designers from all over world. One can view the collection of trendy and fashion forward swimming costumes at the new online store of Swimwear World. These collections are sophisticated as well as comfortable for beach lovers during summers.

There is a beautiful variety in bathing suits in the Swimwear World. The girls can wear tiny bikinis to bold and eye catching mono-kinis. The collection of these outstanding designer swim suits are from luxury beachwear labels such as, Aqua Di Lara, Agua De Coco, Kymare, L Space, Chico Di Stefania D., Red Carter, and Qiss Qiss.

Swimwear World's new effort is to provide women with a perfect opportunity to be updated with the latest in swimwear for the upcoming summers, so that they can define their summer style at the beaches. One of the most precious label in Brazil, 'Agua De Coco' was appreciated in the Sao Paolo fashion week in 2002.

Agua De Coco's new swimming costumes are perfect for glamour, beach sports like volley ball and disc throwing and swimming.

Swimwear World is an existing and new online retailer which is dedicated to provide the luxury designer swimming costumes and beachwear. Now, it is featuring the current and latest collections from the top class designers of the whole world.

Nintendo's new feature, 'Demo Play'

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:54:50 UTC

According to the DS and the Wii report, Nintendo's latest 'Demo Play' feature has been designed by innovators from Japan. This feature enables the game players to skip or watch the defying game sections and game stages.

In 2008, Shigeru Miyamoto cleared his statement that the system (gadget) has been innovated to allow gamers to either watch an automated version of a game or browse through the missing section, completely by facing difficult levels of a game when the missions fail.

Nikkei reported that Demo Play will début in 'New Super Mario Brothers Wii' by the end of 2009.

According to the Japanese publication, this new system which is mentioned as a suitable and a deserving system for “high speed action games” will latterly feature in some other hand held systems also.

Kingmax unveils waterproof 16 GB SD Card.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:54:13 UTC

Kingmax (the biggest manufacturer and supplier of DRAM and flash products) has announced a waterproof SD Card which is based on PIP technology. Along with its waterproof feature, it is also dust proof and resistive from other weather conditions.

PIP technology received IPX7 certificate from SGS which is equivalent to JIS waterproof grade 7 after passing the waterproof test. The company is claiming that the unique packing technology safeguards the new SD card from piracy.

To detect and correct transfer errors, the card is made in Error Correcting Code (ECC). Moreover, ECC helps to ensure the safeguard against duplicating of licensed contents by supporting CPRM which protects the contents of Recordable Media.

Other technologies for SD Cards along with PIP are RoHS, halogen free and PFOS/PFOA directives. Global lifetime warranty is also one of its feature which is in cards of capacity 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB. The cost of card with lowest storage is Rs. 1,370.

Gap launches the Pure Body Studio

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:52:38 UTC

In this falling economy, the hot season of May and June and the rising price of fair, according to the new budget, it is not supporting the people who are struggling more and more to earn their comforts. But, there has to be some way to find peace in this city. To get relieved from all this, Gap has entered with a new Pure Body Studio that is a Zen central for yogis and yoginis, where they can re-energize themselves.

Along with these ultimate layering essentials this brand will also offer yoga classes only for Saturdays with well-known yoga instructors, Ashley Turner and Sadie Nardini.

The director of Gap Marketing stated that, taking time to find peace, especially in a bustling city like New York, is an important exercise for staying true to yourself and yoga is a fantastic way to find that serenity. He maintains that they are so thrilled to offer the new Pure Body and bring a little piece of heaven to customer's wardrobes that can be effortlessly mixed and matched with all their favourite looks.

This new product is the freshest one for Gap in the line of layering tees. It is made up of a very beautiful lightweight cotton spandex which is very soft and comfortable, the material fits close to the body without clinging or creasing and is also perfect for downward dog, lounging around and going out.

The NYC Premier of 'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince'.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:51:35 UTC

The stars from “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and other actors, have arrived at the NYC premier at Ziegfeld Theatre.

The rabid fans of the harry potter stars reached so early to get a glimpse of their favourite actors. Before going in front of flashing lights and outstretched microphones on the red carpet, each and every star greeted their fans, signed the posters and posed for some pictures.

The sixth series of Harry Potter is all about romantic impulses, painful rejections and heated entreaties. All the stars of J.K. Rowling's boy – wizard series have been working together since 2001's "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone".

Radcliffe said that he had known Bonnie (who plays Ginny Weasley) when he was just 11 years old and she was 9 years old. So, their first snog was quite weird but they both got over from that.

Emma Watson also puts her opinion in front of the media saying that she considers Rupert as her brother, so their scene made her feel pretty awkward. Lastly, she admitted that despite being a gentleman, Rupert was a good kisser.

Bonney Wright was dressed up so elegantly with her red hair that was clipped in the back. She spoke at NYC about her romantic make out scenes with Harry Potter and her marvellous Quidditch matches as well.

Electronic Arts reveals 'Command and Conquer 4'

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:50:26 UTC

Electronics Arts have unveiled the fact that the new version of 'Command & Conquer 4' is being developed at Electronics Arts Los Angeles.

The scenario of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars was of the year 2062. Upon seeing the events of part 3, Electronics Arts have installed two opposing factions in Command and Conquer 4. One is the Global Defence Initiative and the second is the Brotherhood of Nod- battling to stop the “mysterious crystalline structure”.

EALA states that the (PC-only) title will be created on the patent's core mechanisms through introducing a latest and new class based game play. It will get the Tiberium series very close to the game players next year in 2009.

Mike Glosecki, the game's lead producer said that “Command and Conquer 4” is a strong and powerful franchise with a superb 15 year estate. This game is innovated to solve all the problems and questions of fans, which they have been looking for. He added that the game players will experience Command and Conquer 4 with the objective based multi-player mode.

Aventura Clothing : “a nature protecting apparel brand”

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:50:09 UTC

The famous leader in world of fashion, Aventura Clothing, which produces eco-friendly women's clothing are now going to take one more step forward.

In order to reduce their corporate carbon footprint, Sportif USA Inc. (parent to Aventura Clothing), has implemented conscious practices that will benefit the environment.

The Vice President of Marketing of Aventura, Tom Williamson stated that, being located in the Sierra Nevada's, which is one of the most beautiful parts of the U.S., they would certainly think about reducing harmful emissions. He stated that, Aventura Clothing prides itself on helping the earth, one garment at a time. With the use of organically grown products and company wide practices that are Eco-friendly, Aventura Clothing is making a bigger impact everyday.

This brand always keeps the environment in mind while operating. The Aventura Spring 2010 workbook has printed 30% post-consumer waste papers using soy ink. Also, the lines of Spring 2010 will be made from 92% Eco-fabrics and all products are packed in 100% recycled poly bags. Aventura always takes care of its commitment to nature from ordering to shipping. The products of this brand are shipped in recycled boxes.

According to Williamson, the involvement of employees plays a key role towards their objectives, he added that, when the employees takes the time to consider the environment in everyday actions, the products are automatically eco-friendly as well.

Aventura Clothing has a very wide view for energy resources. They have made many investments for their warehouse and corporate offices to cut energy use.

There is an air exchange cooling system that deals with temperatures which are above requirement. This system works in conjunction with the cool Nevada nights, exchanging air from the inside with the outside. This cuts the emission of CO2 annually by 55,636 Lbs.

This company had been launched in 2005 and produces excellent feminine wear, in which the production method is eco-friendly.

Nepali Pashmina on its way to spread globally

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:49:19 UTC

Nepal has received its first International Patent Rights (IPR) for its famous 'Pashmina' from Norway. Japan, who are the biggest customers of Pashmina products along with Australia, has also provided Nepal with global patents.

Pashmina is the third biggest export revenue generator for the country, which has been able to create a mark in fashion capitals of the world.

To differentiate the products of cashmere, which is exported from India and China, manufacturers of Pashmina had applied for the registration of a patent with several countries

Exports of Pashmina summed up a revenue of Rs. 7 billion in 2000, but in previous years it has slowed down to just Rs. 540 million. Pashmina has regained its export by 21 percent to touch Rs. 632 million in the first eleven months of the current fiscal.

To register the Pashmina patent in all the countries of the European Union, US, Canada and Russia., Nepal Pashmina Industries Association (NPIA) is making lots of efforts.

NPIA had already applied for the same in different countries.
The government has released a budget of Rs. 12.4 million to help NPIA to meet the expenses of registering the Pashmina patent in different countries across the world.

New brands of vodka by Louis Vuitton – Belvedere IX and Intense.

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:48:02 UTC

The two new versions of flagship vodka Belvedere (Belvedere IX and Belvedere Intense) will be introduce by France’s luxury goods conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) in India by September 2009. At present in India, Cytrus and Pomarancza flavours are available to the consumers, which are the two flavours apart from the original Belvedere.

In India, the original Belvedere costs around Rs. 2,700 and has the quantity of about 700 ml. The cost of the other two flavours is Rs. 3000. According to Bruno Yvon, who is the managing director of Moet Hennessy India (the Indian wines and spirits arm of LVMH), had informed to the Financial Chronicle that the company would be launching Belvedere IX and Belvedere Intense in the domestic market in September or October this year.

He declined to comment on the prices of the new Belvedere variants, as they can only be determined two months before the launch. Belvedere has a strong competition with Bacardi’s Grey Goose, which costs around Rs. 2,100 to Rs. 2,200.

The growing rate for white spirits in the market is around 25 to 30 percent annually. While the market for luxury white spirits grew by 7.5 per cent in 2008. Luxury white spirits are set to grow by 10 percent in the market this year, because of the increase in demand in India.

According to LVMH's portfolio, there are around 22 liquor brands including the likes of Hennessy cognac, Glenmorangie single malt and flagship champagnes, Dom Perignon and Moet & Chandon.

This luxury group has various businesses apart from wines and spirits such as perfumes, watches, jewellery, fashion accessories and leather goods. That is why it has earned the tag of a “conglomerate”. In 2008, the company clocked $ 4,348 million worth of revenues from its wine and spirits business, while LVMH’s total revenues for the same period stood at around $ 23 billion. While Europe is the company’s biggest market, contributing about 31 percent of their overall revenues, Asia accounts for 25 percent of the company's revenue.

Now, get live coverage of BBC radio through Reliance phones

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:46:51 UTC

Customers using the services of Reliance telecommunications can now listen to the live audio service of BBC radio through Reliance's R-World VAS platform. It is a strategic alliance which was announced by Reliance Mobile and BBC World Service.

Reliance Communications has stated that, it is the first international service which is being launched by an Indian telecom company.

The new partnership, aggregated by Worldwide Records, in which customers will be able to view live content across the country through the medium of mobile phones. There are five different languages to choose from, through which Reliance users will be able to listen to BBC World Service news.

BBC World Service will offer news in English, which will switch to Hindi at 6.30am, 8.00am, 7.30pm and 10.30 pm. It will be translated in Tamil at 09.15pm and in Urdu at 7.00am, 8.30 pm and 11.00pm. The news will also be translated in Bengali at 5.00 am, 6.00 am and 6.00pm.

Reliance subscribers can easily access the BBC World Service Radio by dialing 51234378.

Price disclosed for Window 7 upgrade

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:46:15 UTC

A new operating system (Windows 7), with upgrade option details and pricing has now finally been announced by Microsoft. Brandon Le Blanc, Windows Product communication manager, had posted an announcement on the official 'Window Team Blog' so that Windows 7 heads toward General Availability (GA) on Oct. 22 in 14 languages. By following this, Windows 7 will be offered by Microsoft in 21 other languages on October 31st. In this period of recession, technology is still growing. In previous months, Apple had surprised everybody with the introduction of the Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system. Window 7 is another surprise by Microsoft. Under this program, when a consumer buys a new Desktop PC from the participating PC makers or channel partners with specific Windows Vista, then the consumer will be eligible for the Windows 7 upgrade option. The term upgrade means that from June 29 and onwards, the buyer will own a Windows 7 copy on the new PC. The Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program is a program that will commence till January 31 2010, which will be available all over the globe. Consumers can redeem the program until the end of February 2010. There are about 8 major original equipment manufacturers (OEM) for India. HP, Dell, Sony, Lenovo, Acer, Toshiba, HCL and Wipro have been part of this program. Under this Program, you will get a free upgrade of the Windows 7 OS. If you buy a new computer with Windows Vista Home Premium, Business or Ultimate preloaded from any one of these OEMs or channel partners. Here are the estimated price ranges for the new Windows 7 operating system: For the upgrade of Windows 7 Home Premium the estimated price is $120 (Rs. 5,800 approx.) and for the full version, the price is $200 (Rs. 9,600 approx.). In the case of the Windows 7 Professional, $200 will be charged for the upgrade and $300 (Rs. 14,400 approx.) will be charged for the full version. In Windows 7 Ultimate, $220 (Rs. 10,600 approx.) will be charged for the upgrade and $320 (Rs. 15,400 approx.) will be charged for the full version. The offer ends on July 11 in the U.S. and Canada. For Japan, the offer ends on July 5. Customers in UK, France and Germany can pre-order their copy of Windows 7 starting July 15 and which will run until August 14 (or till the supplies last) to ensure that customers don't miss out on this offer.

iPhone 3GS can easily be unlocked and jailbreaked

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:45:34 UTC

The 'iPhone 3GS', which was recently launched by apple has now become a hackable toy for the 'iPhone Dev team' (a group of hackers in the iPhone OS community) . George Hotz stated that, the "24kpwn" exploit used for the iPod Touch 2G jailbreak would work in iPhone 3GS jailbreak (a technique to override a number of blocked software applications in iPhone).

According to the blog of the iPhone Dev team, the existing iPhone unlocking tools like 'red snow' and 'Pwnage Tool' can be used to perform a jailbreak in the new iPhone 3GS.

George Hotz maintains his statement on twitter with the user name 'Geohot', and on a personal note, he is sad. He wrote to Apple that, it took him a week to break through Apple's new defences. He feels that, it is painful to watch the devices roll by on the assembly line, knowing they all had a hole in them and that Apple couldn't fix it.

The cat and mouse game between iPhone Dev team and Apple still continues. However, there is no specific time announced for the availability of iPhone 3GS jailbreak and unlock.

Italian coffee brand now in Bangalore

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:44:44 UTC

Caffe Pascucci, which is a famous Italian brand of coffee has launched its first ‘Caffe Pascucci Shop’ in Bangalore.

The exclusive master franchisee chosen by the company for India is Madhura Beverages India Pvt Ltd, which is a part of the Rs. 300 crore, reputed Madhura Group.

To set 60 outlets across the nation, Madhura Beverages have planned to invest around Rs. 60 crore over three years. Among these 60 outlets, 10 of them will be in Bangalore, and the rest will be in Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Delhi.

The outlets will be a mixture of both company-owned and franchisee outlets. These outlets aims to attract niche consumers (focus on specific product).

According to Mr. VS Sudhakar, who is the director of Madhura Beverages, the company is hoping to capture a share of about 20 to 25 percent of the Rs. 650 crore branded coffee retail business in the country within three to five years.

He stated that they were hoping to 'break-even' in four years from now. Madhura Beverages has currently acquired a license for five years.

Chong Hing brand: New site for luxury items

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:17:34 UTC

A new site has been launched by an authorized dealer, Chong Hing Jewellers. Chong Hing is the dealer of quality Patek Philippe watches and other luxury watches and jewellery. A person intrigued with fine arts and luxury items will love this new site of Chong Hing Jeweller brand. This site was renovated to include detailed images and descriptions of beautifully-crafted timepieces and jewellery from designer brands such as Bvlgari, Chopard, Omega and Piaget and many other brands. Images of Patek Philippe wristwatches, including the avant-garde Patek Philippe Calatrava for men or the sublime 18k gold Patek Phil Chong Hing Jewellers. Chong Hing Jewellers was founded by the Lee family in 1970 and has been trusted as a wide supplier of superior wristwatches from Patek Philippe, Omega and Tag Heuer, as well as fine jewellery and loose diamonds. There are so many stores throughout California, including locations in San Gabriel, Los Angeles Chinatown and Milpitas, where there are jewellers providing precious materials, superior craftsmanship and excellent quality service to their customers. A wide range of fine gifts such as cuff links, home décor, objects d'art, crystal ware, porcelain, charms and leather goods is also offered by Chong Hing Jewellers to keep their customers happy.

A New Deal strikes between Reliance and Henkel

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:13:48 UTC

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail is a sign of big ambitions in the field of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business, this sign has now put in bids to acquire two soap brands belonging to Henkel in India. It has been estimated that, any deal that had been put up for sale last year for the male deodorant soap Aramusk and Moloy sandalwood soap had a worth of about Rs. 10 corer. Henkel is an attractive brand with local sales especially in the eastern part of the country instead it is unlikely to generate significant revenues at a national level. Reliance Industries (RIL), the parent of Reliance Retail, is now planning to set two or more subsidiaries to manage this FMCG business because RIL identified the FMCG sector as the next big area for growth. What started as a private label initiative for Reliance Retail has now grown into a large business idea. Henkel is a Chennai-based company and has put four non-core brands on the block including Maha Bhringol hair oil and Tuhina skin cream. The FMCG sector is growing by 18-20% in the past 5-6 quarters and has coped with the slowdown by helped mainly by price hikes, increased consumer promotions, new product launches and smaller packs. FMCG companies is a very laborious firm and when the growth slowed down in April and May,these companies aggressively gunned for volumes. There are so many categories which Reliance proposes to enter, like foods such as staples and snacks, and personal care products including soaps, detergents, shampoos and hair oils. Henkel is 51% subsidiary of German consumer products company Henkel KGaA, which had decided to divest its non-core regional brands in January this year. To focus on flagship brands, Henko and Mr White (both laundry care brands), Pril dishwasher, Margo soap and Fa deodorants, Henkel wants to prune its portfolio. Neem toothpaste and haircare brands Igora, Bonacure, Glatt and Palette are some of the brands in the Rs. 600-crore Henkel India’s portfolio. In addition to deodorants, the Fa franchise includes soap, talcs, shaving cream and after-shave lotions. Furthermore, Henkel introduced its Bref surface cleaners last year.

Noblivity – Best support for independent fashion designers

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:12:59 UTC

Noblivity.com is an innovative online shopping fashion destination which features the fashion brands of emerging designers. According to founder of Noblivity, Mr. Andrea Williamson, they are constantly inspired by the ever evolving fashion industry and they want to personally connect shoppers with the latest upcoming designer collections, enhancing the shopping experience with the magic of information. To bring US retail outlets to the American consumer, fire hose lifestyle accessories and Noblivity has teamed up with their U.S. Distributor Elvis and Kresse, which is a UK based Organization. The unique hand-made exclusives from decommissioned British fire hose have high quality handbags and belts. The wide range of accessories featured in this month's Vogue magazine is practical and attractive. The recycled hose is resistive to weather, fire and water and the proof for this are the evidences of ridges and grooves of a long life. Any two accessories marked with batch numbers and the original manufacturer's name will exactly be the same. To bring unique knitwear collection to the global online marketplace Noblivity is collaborating with Italian designer Paola Davoli. Paola Davoli ID distinguished by IYD bold print, brazen embellishments and bright colours and is one of the first manufacturers to receive the 'traceability of origin certification' from Italian Textile Fashion. Noblivity.com now includes two new reputed collections in the Noblivity MarketPlace (US-based Terra Tee Collection and Italian-based BluStyle Handbags). To change the world one eco-friendly tee at a time, the Terra Tee brings strong desire with its collections. The tees are nature inspired and are designed to keep specific charity in mind. They donated 15% to charities with each purchase so that it can support the environment and an enriched quality of life. BluStyle Italian Handbags makes its début at the Noblivity MarketPlace bringing 'True Italy' genuine Italian timeless craftsmanship and attention to details across the waters with each distinctive luxury handbag. There are so many fashion designers who are emerging independently and want to bring their fashion brand directly to the consumer, in domestic and international terms. Now they have the best convenient online destination hub, which has a global objective to maximize brand awareness among these independent designers.

Dhama Apparels – mixing fashion with technology

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:12:10 UTC

Dhama apparels Innovations Pvt. Ltd. plans to take a step to the next level in designing clothes. They intend to do this by adding some extra functionalities and capabilities. The apparel brand is moving ahead with its initial products like, ClimaGear, ClimaNeck, and ClimaMet. This new apparel regulates the temperature according to a person's need.

Dhama Apparel has been in the news because of two well known investors, who have their investment in this brand. They have faith over the innovative products manufactured by Dhama, based on Dhama’s patented technology.

The Director of Dhama Apparel Innovations Pvt. Ltd, Mr Kranthi Kiran Vistakula spoke to Fibre2fashion, so as to give them information about the technological innovations of the company.

According to Mr Vistakula, Dhama Apparel Innovations Pvt. Ltd has developed heating and cooling apparels. This apparel works on the thermoelectric technology, which is embedded into it. Advanced Nano treatments are made to the fabrics to make them antibacterial, sweat wicking and water repellent.

The potential source of infection is a shared keyboard... !!

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:26:51 UTC

According to a recent study in Sydney, potential sources of infection are shared keyboards in Cyber Cafés and other places where keyboards are touched by dozens of hands. The study examined a large number along with various types of micro-organisms on computer keyboards in the campus of the Swinburne University of Technology (SUT), Australia. Each of these keyboards were compared with the ones belonging to computers that were normally used and handled by only one person. A report from the Swinburne University of Technology stated that almost half of the multiple-user Cafes were found to give shelter to the Staphylococcus aureus, which is also known as with the name of golden staph in comparison with 20 percent of the 'one user only' computer keyboards. Enzo Palombo is the study co-author in SUT. She commented that for harbouring and giving shelter to micro-organisms, computer labs and multiple use Internet Cafés are hot spots. She added her comment that organizations should be more hygienic and careful in keeping shared keyboards. She further said that especially at multiple user work stations, computer keyboards as well as computer mouses (subject to multiple usage) must be disinfected and regularly cleaned with germ killers.

A book which is meant for helping children to cope with sibling deaths

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:18:49 UTC

Jean Reagan is a promising writer of children books. She is very new in this field. She has written a book aimed at teaching children about dealing with trauma resulting from the death of a sibling.

Her 19 year old son had an expected death which left the family (which includes her husband and her daughter) grief stricken. The boy died because of taking heroin in a quantity which proved to be fatal. His death was unaccepted as well as an unexpected one for them.

She said that her family is like a three legged dog without her son. One day, Jean Reagan's daughter said that she hoped that the reason behind remembering her brother would not be the way in which he died. That thing stuck in the mind of Jean.

Jean decided to fight with her grief and sorrow by writing a beautiful story. She said that a picture book on this subject seemed to her as a real need for children. She added that the grief associated with the loss of a sibling is normally one of the most unrecognised ones.

The book that Reagan has written has been named 'Always my brother' in honour of all siblings and also for recognising the grief that is normally encountered with the loss of a brother or a sister. She commented that the story of 'always my brother' is not parallel to her own story. She has poured out her emotions and experiences of her grief in this book.

Dozens and dozens of music tracks in the vault of Michael Jackson

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:53:19 UTC

The late pop star Michael Jackson had a large number of music recordings in the vault and all these recording have not been launched. These music recordings are in the condition to be packaged and repackaged for his fans and his music lovers in the years to come.

Tommy Mottola, chairman and CEO of Sony Music, said that there is a huge quantity of songs in the vault. He added that fans of MJ will be getting the chance to listen to his brilliant and unreleased music pieces for the first time ever.

Tommy Mottola has mentioned himself as a “ shepherd and gatekeeper” of MJ's catalogue. He said that he was more familiar with MJ than any other person. He also said that he recorded many music tracks with him.

Sony Music declined to comment about Michael Jackson's unreleased music and concert footage. The details are not at all clear as to who owns Jacko's unreleased music. Even the Jackson family has not discussed anything publicly for Michael Jackson's catalogue.

“Invincible” was the last original album of Michael Jackson. 2001 was the year in which this album was released. But because of controversies like child molestation trial etc. in 2005, he could not record some of the tracks. He was active in recent years and was planning to perform on a stage show also.

The R&B singer Akon said that he and Michael completed only one song “Hold My Hand”. This song was leaked in 2008.

The doubles pair of Knowles-Bhupathi lose despite putting on stiff resistance in quarters of Wimbledon

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:41:04 UTC

The Indian tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi and the Bahamas (US) tennis star Mark Knowles were defeated in a marathon men's doubles quarter final in London. They played this match against the South African-Belgian pair of Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman on 1st July, 2009.

This Indo-Bahamian pair( seeded fourth in this tournament) put up a strong fight against the ninth seed South African-Belgian pair in a three hour and 37 minute match (which took place at the All England club) before losing 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-7 (7), 5-7, 4- 6.

Both the pairs played extremely well and struck impressive serves. In the first set, Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman won and they took the lead. The Indo-Bahamian pair was jolted by the early deficit but they took the second set along with saving the only break point that they got in the match.

Both pairs did not concede even an inch, so the result of the third set was also declared through a tie-breaker. While being in lead, Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman managed to see the face of victory in the tie breaker.

The match stretched on to the fifth set with the Indo-Bahamian pair of Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles winning the fourth set. But they could not stop the South African-Belgian pair from marching into the last eight stage.

Jealous introduces pepper spray for Girls

Wed, 13 May 2009 02:15:50 UTC

Well known clothing brand Jealous 21 has now introduced Jealous 21 self defense peeper sprays. The bright pink J21 pepper spray is expected to become a range amongst all the modern young girls. On every purchase of J21 pair of jeans, the company has decided to give away one J21 pepper spray absolutely free. The pepper spray is definitely a utility and with this from J21, one can definitely get the style element packed with the smart idea of making you safe. Kanwalpreet Walia, Marketing Manager, Indus League Clothing, stated that Jealous 21 is all about styling girls, it's handy and compact and will easily fit in every girls messy bag. It's one of the best, legal, safe and sure way to protect a girl without harming the person. The J21 pepper sprays are launched in association with Aax Global, a Bangalore firm that manufactures Cobra pepper spray.

Grab PC launches its first showroom in Chennai

Wed, 13 May 2009 02:14:55 UTC

Grab PC, India's comprehensive online computer store forays into traditional retail sector with the launch of its first showroom at Perambur Barracks Road in Chennai. The showroom is an outcome of a huge demand from their loyal customers who wanted a physical store to experience, touch and feel the computer products especially the laptops and high end computer devices. Manish Jain, the Business Development Head, stated that the company was planning to launch its retail space for a long time, especially post their success in the online market. The retail format is in the form of its first showroom that would boost up the company sales while meeting the customer needs and demands successfully.. This new showroom is a complete IT store, selling everything a modern customer is looking out for.

Van Heusen introduces women collection

Fri, 08 May 2009 11:15:07 UTC

A leading premium lifestyle brand, Van Heusen, has launched three new women collections for this summer- indigo & white collection, fuchsia & black collection and formal collections.

Under its indigo & white collection, the brand launched tops, shirts, lightweight knits and airy fabrics, to offset the Indian summer.

The Fuchsia & Black collection explores tones of pink, black and grays. The colour blocking and bold strips patterns have given a good mix of regular formals and fashion formals in the line.

The price range for the shirts starts from Rs. 1395, while trousers cost from Rs. 1295. Suits are priced at Rs. 4995 and dresses at Rs. 1995 onwards.

The new collection of Van Heusen is available at all the Van Heusen outlets. Presently, Van Heusen operates its exclusive stores in Ahmedabad, Bangaluru, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mysore, New Delhi, Noida, Pune, Guwahati and Mumbai. Van Heusen products are also available in select stores of Planet Fashion, Lifestyle, Central and Shoppers' Stop.

Shoppers Stop to open 12 new stores over 3 years

Fri, 08 May 2009 10:22:10 UTC

Shoppers Stop plans to open 12 new stores with a total area of 650,000 sq ft in coming three years, leveraging on the fall in mall rentals, reversal of service tax and a possible revival in the economy. The company needs a capital expenditure of Rs. 91 crore for the store openings (Rs. 1400 per sq feet) and Rs. 32.50 crore for (Rs. 400-500 per sq feet) for its 12 upcoming stores. The company was further planning to fund the expansion from its internal accruals, equity infusion and debts. It has a plan to open four stores by this financial year. These shopping store are expected to be open in cities of Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, and four stores each in next two fiscal, and every store will measure around 5,500 sq feet as mall rentals have fallen 35 – 40 percent in few cities in the last couple of years. Govind Shrikhande, chief executive, Shoppers Stop, said that due to the downfall of property rates, the group plans to expand, and has undrawn limits of Rs. 90 crore. The last fiscal was one of the toughest year for the retailers and anticipations are on fire that the first quarter will also go difficult. Apart from the 26 Shoppers Stop stores, the company runs special formats such as Home Store, Mother Care, Crossword and Arcelia, among others, and an airport retailing venture with Nuance, a European firm.

McDonald's launches 40 new restaurants

Fri, 08 May 2009 09:59:41 UTC

Fast Food chain McDonald's India is all set to add 40 more restaurants all over the country by 2009-10. This financial year, the firm is expecting for 40 more restaurants as stated by Vikram Bakshi, McDonald's India managing director and joint venture partner (North and East ) at a CII conference in New Delhi.

However, Vikram did not comment on the investment plans of the company. Currently, there are 158 restaurants across the country, and the company aims to expand its chain, told Bakshi.

Informing about the new restaurants and their special breakfast menu, Bakshi told that the company has started them on a trial basis, and if they generate a good response, further plans will we made to expand them.

The new breakfast scheme of the restaurant chain will offer special menus during the morning hours.

Taco Bell makes its presence in India, introduces 2 outlets this year

Fri, 08 May 2009 09:48:16 UTC

The much awaited Mexican QSR chain Taco Bell is all set to make its presence in India. It will open two outlets during the fourth quarter of Yum! Restaurant International.

Vinod Mehboobani, VP- business development, Yum Restaurants India told that the firm will open Taco Bell this year, and there is a plan for two outlets till September-November of this year.

He further told that the provisional launch city of Teco Bell would be Mumbai and Bengaluru. The preferred location is still to be finalised, it would be high street and a mall.

Futhermore, Ashok Bajpai, GM, Yum Restaurants India stated that the Taco Bell is famous globally to give outstanding value at every price point. It is a very good time to get Mexican-inspired food with reasonable prices, hence, this will generate a wide number of customers at all price levels with the company's three popular brand.

Gitanjali launches stores in tier-II,111 cities

Fri, 08 May 2009 09:45:06 UTC

Cashing in on a drop in lease prices, the Gitanjali Group will concentrate on retail expansion in tier-II and tier III cities by spending Rs 300 crore in this year. This year, the firm will focus on its expansion, since the low rentals and have given an opportunity to open up more stores and expand the brand's network, told Mehul Choksi (chairman and managing director of Gitanjali Group). Moreover, there will be 30-40 lifestyles stores. The retail store will have several premium s brands of jewellary, watches, silverware, perfumes, cosmetics, leather and accessories. Gitanjali now has six flagship stores and 250 shop-in-shops to retail lifestyles products. Last year, Gitanjali had acquired Trinity Watch and Hoop Silver Jewellery. Trinity watch company is having various international brands like Iris, Saint Hanore, Umbro and Everlas. Hoop manufactures jewellery in silver, titanium, steel, wood and leather.

Emami's summer campaign aims Rs. 300 crore business

Tue, 05 May 2009 11:03:52 UTC

This summer, Emami-a known cosmetic company, is targeting to raise its sales target with a stronger budget.

Aditya V Agarwal, Director, Emami Ltd, stated that this summer, Emami is aiming at sales of Rs. 300 crore with a growth of 30 percent over last summer, with an investment of Rs. 60-70 crore on advertising and brand promotions, a 20 percent growth in the budget of last season. This campaign will also be centred around its other brands like Navratna Oil and Boroplus.

Brand extension plans

The company is further introducing two new hair oils of Navratna brand- Navratna Oil Lite and Navratna Extra Thanda Oil. The Navratna Oil Lite is a non- sticky hair oil with mild fragrance, while the Navratna Extra Thanda Oil will be a strong variant. Both are aimed to provide a “cooling effect” in hot summers.

It will also extend its products in talcum powder segment as well. Navratna will introduce its talcum powder called Navratna Cool Talc- 24-hr Fresh.

The Boroplus range is also included in the summer campaign of Emami. With Boreplus Ice Prickly Heat Powder having three variants of cool lavender, sandalwood and French herbal.
The new TV commercial of Navratna Cool Talc will be featuring its Brand Ambassador Shah Rukh Khan while Amitabh Bachchan has appeared and sung for its other commercial for Navaratna Oil.

Boroplus range's ad campaign will feature Kareena Kapoor.

TV Technology unit sold by Nokia

Mon, 04 May 2009 11:11:41 UTC

A leading name in the mobile manufacturing, Nokia has sold out its enterprise mobile TV unit to Wipro, as per the information revealed by a Nokia representative. It is a unit of about forty employees of the Mobile Broadcast solution which made software and hardware to allow mobile TV technology on a phone to determine and approach the broadcasting network. The company aims to focus on the customer side of things, the mobile TV clients in the device, instead of business-to-business side, the representative further added. Mobile television broadcasting, the latest feature in cellphones a few years back, has hardly seen any requirement anywhere in the world.

The Mobile store announces 'Low Cost Ray Handsets'

Mon, 04 May 2009 11:11:18 UTC

The mobile store will be launching a series of the low cost handsets under its brand 'Ray', as it focusses towards the manufacturing of the mobile phones for the very first time. This is seen as a very challenging task as there are already many leading brands in this field which are competing for a share of the market pie.

The company has estimated a revenue of Rs 200 crore in the very first year of Ray's existence. Presently, the company sells two models, namely Ray T65 and M20, which are priced under the Rs. 7,000 mark.

The Ray M20 has an affordable price of Rs 2,300 that sports an FM radio, MP3 player, expandable memory and GPRS, whereas the T65 has a mid-range rate of Rs 6,999 featuring a 3 megapixel camera, a 262k, 1.8 inch display, music player, bluetooth along with a touch screen feature. Both of these handsets can be accessed online or from The Mobile Store outlets.

Other than these two handsets, The Mobile Store will also introduce two other models in the first phase of product launching.

Summer collection unveiled by Zudaas France

Mon, 04 May 2009 11:10:44 UTC

Kidswear brand Zudaas France has introduced its summer collection 2009. It targets children and teenagers between age group 0-15, and the apparels are based on the theme of ritual safari which is inspired form the ways of the African plains and woodlands, as per a company press release.

The collection showcases washed and striped denims, T-shirts, tops, blouses and dresses in a micro-floral prints, along with scarves and caps, rating from indigo to sky blue.

The collection is available at all the exclusive outlets of Zudaas France across the country and has a price range of Rs 200 to Rs 1999.

Videocon launches DTH Services

Mon, 04 May 2009 11:10:17 UTC

A fresh player in the domain of DTH (direct to home services), Videocon is set to unveil its services commercially as 'Videocon D2H'. The firm had soft-launched this service on 27th April, making Videocon the sixth company to offer the DTH services.

Furthermore, there would be 2,500 dealers in 15,000 showrooms across the country to offer the Videocon DTH services.

The company aims on a 15 lakh subscriber base in the first year, and further growth is estimated in the coming years, ultimately targeting one crore subscribers in the next six years.

The firm is also planning to introduce TVs in the Indian market with an in-built set-top box. Commenting on this, a Videocon spokesperson stated that the company has taken 40 engineers who have spent nearly two years to devise the TV sets with built-in STBs.

150 new stores to be introduced by Aditya Birla Nuvo

Mon, 04 May 2009 11:09:37 UTC

A part of the Aditya Birla Group, Aditya Birla Nuvo, is making plans to rearrange its apparels business by opening 150 new stores at the city centres, where football is prominent, after closing 30 unversed stores, as per the information revealed by an top official of the company.

The company has taken this step, after its final loss extended to Rs 141.2 crore in the march end quarter, thanks to rising loss in the apparels segment. The loss was Rs 82.2 crore in the apparel business, against the loss of Rs 4.44 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year. Total income of the apparels sales fell by one percent to Rs 273.3 crore in the period, when customers reacted to the economic downturn by reducing their spending.

In the present quarter, the company plans to shut 30 outlets where sales per square feet has come down. The firm also expects to save Rs 10 crore per year with the closing of theses unprofitable stores, as stated by Pranab Barua, whole-time director of Aditya Birla Nuvo and chief executive of the textile and apparel business, Aditya Birla Group.

The apparel business branch of the firm, which has Madura Garments Lifestyle & Retail and Peter England Fashions & Retail, runs 340 stores in the country. Madura Garments has brands like Louis Philippe, Van Heusen and Allen Solly along with a collaboration with fashion brand Esprit.

Furthermore, Pranab Barua informed that the company will also take cost cutting measures in apparels which are expected to save Rs 100 crore till 2010. There are also plans to lessen the store area in some cases, he added.

The company aims to regenerate the Allen Solly brand to promote the revenue and enhance visibility, while Van Heusen, Louise Phillippe and Peter England are performing well in the market.

Aditya Birla Retail, one more company of the group which runs supermarkets and hypermarkets, has shot 70 inviable store of its 'More' chain to gain profit. Other retailers like the Future group and Reliance Retail have descended their expansion as customers defer purchase and downtrade to beat the the financial downfall.

Experts are of a view that high leverage positions and risking debts to equity ratios are a reason of the slow expansion of retailers.

Nikon launches 8 new digital cameras

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 04:28:19 UTC

Nikon has recently launched 8 new digital camera models for its 'Coolpix' brand in the range of Rs. 7,450 – Rs. 25,950. Hidehiko Tanaka, Nikon India Managing Director, said that the company is expecting 10 % market share in compact camera and 40 % in single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras, and planning to make these cameras available in around 800 shop-in-shop stores by this year. Right now we have our presence in around 100 stores but we are further looking to expand in India. Presently, Nikon experiences a 5 % share in compact cameras in Indian market with around 10-lakh units, while SLR cameras are around 13,000 units. Further, Nikon plans to hire about 200 employees for strengthening its sales force in retail section in India. The company is targeting to expand in cities like- Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata, while Delhi is already enjoying their 'SLR Zone' concept.

Delhi Daredevils wear Adidas costume

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:45:28 UTC

Leading sport wear brand Adidas, has introduced an all new range for Indian Premier League's Delhi Daredevils, that's a fiery red and electric blue colour for the team.

Andreas Gellner. MD, Adidas, said that they are all thrilled and excited for two reasons, one being, the ceremonious start of the Indian Premier League season 2 and second being the launch of an all new range of costumes for Delhi Daredevils. The new range for the team is designed keeping in mind the craze and excitement of the delhiites.

The fabric used for the new dress has ClimaCool technology, ventilation channels and open mesh that will keep the team cool and energetic throughout the game.

For the commoners, the brand ensures that the match jerseys are available with some funky designed trees and accessories on it. This new range can be picked from selected Adidas stores of India.

Mocha's new outlet at Nehru Place, plans an expansion

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:13:02 UTC

Riyaz Amlani, MD, Impressario Entertainment announced that they are going to launch a new Mocha outlet at Nehru Place, New Delhi, India,on 1st of May this year . The outlet will be spread over an area of 1,000 square feet. The news came right after Mocha: Coffees and Conversations recently launched its outlet at Gurgaon which covers an area of 4,000 square feet and towers high with three floors.

He disclosed that they are planning to expand by introducing 5 new units within 2009 in addition to their 15 already existing units and aim to launch another 5 more which they are planning internally.

He added further that Mocha is a destination based product and, therefore, the company does not intend to launch all its units considering that space only and so it is intending to be on a lookout for a prime standalone location in any high street market and not restricting itself to malls only.

Amlani also said that they will launch new outlets not only in Metros but also in tier II and some of the tier III cities.

He concluded finally by saying that apart from Metros they will have outlets in tier I cities also.

Transcend Flash Drives now equipped with eSobi

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:33:45 UTC

An enhanced version of Transcend's 8GB Jet Flash V30 USB Flash drive has been launched that's comprised with full-featured 90 day trial version of eSobi Internet information management software.

Software eSobi has multifuctional applications that integrate an RSS reader, meta-search engine, information library along with the efficient web searching and centralized file management tools, the company informed.

The newly launched flash driver is equipped with features like Internet data collection process, that also resolves information overflow problem along with stress prevention caused by painstaking hunt for information.

The Jetflash is an elegant looking small device that is compatible with Mac OS 9.0/OS X, Windows 98/SE/2000/Me/XP/Vista and Linux Kernel 2.4.2 or later.
This one comes with a 2 year waranty and would cost you somewhere around 2000 INR.

Hamdard launches RoohAfza kiosks

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:02:27 UTC

Hamdard (Wakf) Laboratories have launched a new concept for making their brand RoohAfza popular amongst the consumers by introducing RoohAfza dispenser kiosks at some of the busiest places with a high footfall, like, hospitals, highways and tourist spots.

Arshad Siddiqui, CMO, Hamdard (Wakf) Labs confirmed that by setting up such kiosks at certain places, they can easily reach out to people with their product and people would also be ready to try it. The dispenser concept has been well accepted by the people.

He added further that with the presence of strong competitors like, Rasna, kissan sqashes, Sherbet-e-Aasam and Haldiram's they have introduced two new flavours of Rooh Afza, one being Rooh Afza with simple water and the other one with the lemon flavour. They even intend to mix it with desserts and mocktails in future.

RoohAfza brand is worth Rs 1 billion in the concentrated drink market segment, which itself values up to Rs 5 billion. The company plans to reach a turnover of Rs 5 billion with a revenue growth of 67% in another two years.

Siddiqui also stated that in an year's time they will establish their products in both national and international markets, with a plan of doubling its distribution which at present is through 5,00,000 outlets.

He concluded that the company is considering ways to make their brand come into the knowledge of people by advertising and promoting their products in tier I, tier II cities and metros as well.

Tommy Hilfiger advances to Small Towns

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:56:37 UTC

Tommy Hilfiger, a premium Apparel brand is planning to launch new stores at a fast pace in small towns and cities so as to capture the market .

Shailesh Chaturvedi, CEO, Tommy Hilfiger India stated that their last year launched stores in Ahmedabad, Jalandar and Patiala did good business which are prompting them to start new stores inother potent cities like Amritsar and Jaipur.

The brand holds 40 stores over 13 cities, out of which 20 are their exclusive outlets while the others are franchised to big retail formats. This number of 40 stores is expected to cross over 50 in this present year.

Chaturvedi stated that 20% of sales are generated from the small towns and the figure can go up to one third in another two years, since the purchasing power in the small towns is gradually increasing and customers are looking out for branded products.

The brand launched sunglasses inspired by Soha Ali Khan in bright yellow with aviator design at a price of Rs 8,000 as a part of brand's summer line collection.

He concluded that the innovative designs draw more of customers towards the brand and hence, they would be announcing more designs soon.

The price range of apparels start from Rs 900 and goes up till Rs 15,000.

Bata reports 6.8% growth in first Quarter

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:46:38 UTC

Bata Footwear, the leading footwear brand in India has announced a growth of 6.8% in the revenue and 27% profit before Tax(PBT) in their first quarter. The growth figures for revenue are showed as Rs 2,330.32 million this year against Rs 2,181.99 million last year and PBT as Rs 162.35 million this year against Rs 127.69 million last year as stated by the company

Marcelo Villagran, MD, Bata India said that their plan for launching the large format stores were quite favourable for their business and that their attention towards the basic features like good design and quality for customers along with the reasonable price has helped them earn such commendable figure in sales.

There are over 32 new retail outlets launched by Bata with a complete international format with a minimum area of 3,000 square feet and 3 stores were repaired in the first three months in 2009.

Bata distributes its products to 20,000 independent shoe dealers across 400 Indian cities. Beside the metros, tier I and II cities have around 1200 Bata stores.

Funskool aims at 10% expansion in retail

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 05:25:31 UTC

Funskool India, a leading Toy making company is planning for expansion in the retail distribution network by about 10 per cent this fiscal year in order to increase its market share in the Indian domestic toy market worth Rs 1,250 crore.
R Jeswant, GM Sales & Marketing, Funschool India explained that their products are already being marketed by over 4,000 retailers via the reputed big format stores like Shopper's Stop and their further expansion area targets remain the Tier II and III cities this year.
He also confirmed that they are approaching major retail chains to merchandise their toys, the names of which were not disclosed yet.
He further said that the Indian toy market is growing at a rate of 15% annually and upcoming markets in Tier II and III cities can be tapped well for their multiplying business. They are planning to capture all these places and extend their retail network to 4,500 more new outlets by the end of this fiscal year.
Jeswant concluded that they are eyeing on generating Rs 65 crore turnover this fiscal year, that's an increment of 15% in comparison with that of the last year, that amounted to Rs 50 crore turnover.
Funskool India is a partnership venture between MRF Tyres and Germany-based Hasbro Inc.

LEGO Rock Band Game under construction

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:07:51 UTC

The launch of a multi platform game LEGO Rock Band was announced by TT Games, Harmonix and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment recently. The game being a multi platform, would be compatible with Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and DS Platform and will be available in the markets in the month of September.

Its few cynosure features being the music jamming in a multiplayer environment and great customizable characters might fascinate you in this game and would be published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
The music of this multi platform is quiet funny and enjoyable to listen including music toppers like Blur: "Song 2", Carl Douglas: "Kung Fu Fighting", Europe: "The Final Countdown", Good Charlotte: "Boys and Girls", Pink: "So What" .Players can also customize the game characters with Lego build-and-play style, making this game even more exciting.

Modi Revlon join hands with a French company

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 02:45:49 UTC

Modi Revlon has partnershiped with a French Firm Pierre Fabre Dermo, for the distribution and marketing of Rene Further, a premium brand for scalp and hair treatment, and now it plans to march ahead in more discrete areas of the professional beauty segment. Umesh K Modi, President & CEO at Modi Revlon stated that sales were not up to the mark at the organized retail level as retailers cleared up their stocks, whereas sales were satisfactory with the small stores. However, the partnership with the French firm at this point of time can be ruled out as of crucial importance, that would indeed help the brand to establish itself in the professional beauty segment. He also said that the company would plan a pan India movement for all high-end salons in India, since there can be no better place for the beauty products except the salons, that would gradually be seen advancing to the retail stores as well, but only after the response at the salons is concluded The plans include a launch of professional skin care range as of now, post the launch of Revlon Professional range, last year that catered to the temporary salon needs. Modi Revlon is a 74:26 partnership of Umesh K Modi Group and Revlon US. The company is expecting a turnover of Rs. 200 crore with a contribution of 20% from modern retail sector. They are also planning to launch new 'store in store' outlets and double their figure from the existing 1,800 in another three years.

LERROS store now in Chandigarh

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:57:18 UTC

Lerros, a German brand in Apparel has inaugurated its outlet in Chandigarh recently following three stores in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. Lerros was established in India in the year 2008 and is a joint venture between House of Pearl Fashions and Lerros Modern GmbH .
The Chandigarh outlet is opened at 17C, spanning up to an area of 1000 square feet, offering apparels with an exclusive styling, to give a street, sport and vintage taste to its collection.

S Ramprasad, CEO at Lerros stated that they were targeting Chandigarh for quite a while now as they felt that the city was appropriate for their lifestyle business due to the propelling needs in the same sector by a majority. He also said that the revenue objectives seem to be bright here with a massive potential from the kind of market.

He further stated that soon they would be experimenting with the multi-brand retail platform and a franchising model, in order to expand in the prominent markets.

Nederburg by Aspri Spirit now in India

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:16:26 UTC

South African wine brand Nederburg Wines have marked its presence in the Indian market courtesy Aspri Spirit ,India's well known importers and distributors of wine who holds the credit for launching it in the Indian market.

The three varieties are Pinotage , Sauvignon Blanc and Shiraz which are available in 750 ml pack and are priced at Rs 2398, Rs 2167 and Rs 2398 respectively.

Distell group's subsidiary, Nederburg amounts for 40% market share in South African wine market.

Hamdard's new venture 'Nature Wonder'

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:15:31 UTC

Hamdard (Wakf) laboratories, one of the big names in Unani medicines has recently ventured into lifestyle wellness space as they launched 'Nature Wonder', a range of OTC products for curing problems related to lifestyle.

New products will get added to the existing portfolio which consists of Safi ,Cinkara and Joshina at present

Arshad Siddiqui ,Chief Marketing Officer ,Hamdard (Wakf) Laboratories explained that most of us Indians are suffering from problems related to lifestyle mismanagement like Obesity, Diabetes, Heart diseases and liver related disorders which can be cured naturally by using 'Nature Wonder' wide range of products .These products are natural, clinically tested and have proved to be highly effective remedies for lifestyle related disorders.

Asad Mueed , Director, Hamdard quoted that the overall aim for extension of consumer healthcare is to promote Unani medicine in the day to day life of today's people.

The company is reportedly planning to double its OTC revenue upto Rs. 2 billion in another four years.

Tanishq reveals 'Bhagwat Gita' Pendant

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:14:35 UTC

Bhagwad Gita, a holy Hindu guide which is considered to be highly sacred and has religious doctrines of mankind is now available in a pendant, thanks to Tanishq .This well known jewellery brand of India has recently launched a Bhagwat Gita pendant which has all the 18 chapters minutely carved over one square centimetre Chip which can only be observed under 20X magnification and if one wants to read then this act is possible only if the microscope being used is capable of providing a magnification level of 200X. The chip is designed into a pendant by Tanishq.

This particular Bhagwat Gita is the world's smallest one and has been made of 22 K pure gold. There are 6 different varieties of this pendant and all of them are available across all the Tanishq outlet throughout India.

Sandeep Kulhalli, VP, Tanishq stated they are always experimenting with designs to come up with something very special and unique .The holy Bhagwat Gita pendant on the occasion of Akshaya Trithiya is especially meant for their most valued customers and they believe that this auspicious masterpiece is a must accessory to possess..

The chip was created by Professor Pawan Sinha of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, who holds the patent for this technology and has received the Limca World Record for the Smallest Bible ever measuring over 25% of a 1 square-centimetre Chip.

New offer by McDonald's

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:12:49 UTC

McDonald's, a premium fast food restaurant has announced a new offer by the name of 'Braveheart Fans' in view of the present Indian Premier League(IPL) matches. According to the offer, the act of choosing any one of the Mc saving combo will make the customer eligible for receiving a scratch coupon which may result in winning a trip to South Africa to see the final match on May 24th at Johannesburg. Mc saving combo consists of an economy meal, McVeggie meal and McChicken meal.

There are total 86 outlets in North and east India out of which 35 are in Delhi only.

McDonald's India (N & E India), Director, marketing, Sanjeev Katyal disclosed that the plan offered is especially to value their customers and to provide tasty treat. It's an opportunity for all those Cricket fans in India, who would like to send their best wishes to their favourite team by getting the chance to join them.

An additional zing to the offer includes nine lucky prize winners who can meet the Delhi Daredevils (DD) team and watch the match on May 19t, at Johannesburg and also get special team merchandises.

Gitanjali partners with MMTC, plan for 450 new stores

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:11:47 UTC

Gitanjali Group, a Rs 5,000 crore value Group has signed partnership agreement with MMTC, a government enterprise for gold and diamond jewellery and is planning to launch 450 exclusive new stores in another 12 to 18 months or so, with an investment of Rs 300 crore as disclosed by Mehul Choksi, MD, Gitanjali Group .The group already has 150 large stores at present.
Lara Dutta inaugurated the first joint venture store 'Shuddhi-Sampurna Viswas' (SSV) in South Delhi. She is the brand ambassador of D'damas jewellery, a brand of the Gitanjali Group. The group holds 74% stake in the MMTC joint venture .With this partnership, it is expected that the group will mark its name in the gold jewellery sector as it has done with diamond jewellery sector.
Choksi explained further that they will expand to about 50-60 stores in the next one and a half years with 65-75 crore investment and the stores will be either company owned or be the property of SSV.
The group has 143 retail stores in US after the possession of Samuel jewellers and Roger jewellers.

This group already has a good presence into the Chinese market by having taken the preliminary steps in the form of forming associations with about 35 local outlets.

Gitanjali is expecting a turnover of Rs 6,500 crore in the 2009-2010 fiscal compared to the current figure of 5,000 crore at the present fiscal.

Sangini, Gili, D'damas, Nakshatra, and Asmi are all brands of the Gitanjali group

Carlton Overseas to launch 50 new outlets this year

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:10:10 UTC

Carlton Overseas Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Carlton Shoes Ltd. UK is planning to launch 50 new stores all across the Indian market before March 2010 by the name of 'Carlton London', also120 establishments in Supermarkets and multi brand stores as shop-in-shops as confirmed by Kamal Gupta ,CEO, Carlton Overseas Pvt Ltd .

He further stated that investment for the same has not been decided as yet. The company plans to escalate export deals with India. He concluded that the expansion will take place in all metros and Tier I cities along with Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad. Also half of the proposed 50 stores will be company owned and the rest franchised.
Carton London outlets are currently 10 in number in Jammu, Delhi, Ludhiana and Chandigarh and the products are available in about 12 large stores including Planet Sports.

Flight fares reduced by Singapore Airlines along with 2 Indian Airlines

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:09:33 UTC

Singapore Airlines and two other airlines of India have reduced their travelling fares and offered new packages for getting more and more customers on board .The decision came right after Air India announced a drop in their air fares.

SpiceJet, a low fare airline has offered Rs 500 off over every return trip for customers whereas JetLite has announced low return air fares starting from Rs 4,170 with the development fees and passenger service fees being excluded ( a feature which is not adhered to by certain airports).
Some travel plans were introduced few days back by Air India having the flight fare as Rs 2,494 for a one way trip if the booking is done before 20 days and Rs 2,694 if the booking is done before 10 days of the date of departure. Another treat from Air India was the Summer Special offers for booking air ticket before 30 days of travel.

Singapore airlines ,along with Singapore Changi Airport & Singapore Tourism board (STB) is providing a package by the name of 'Fabulous Singapore Stopover' for 'USD one only' which includes a first night stay in Singapore. The package also provides information about best deals in accommodation, airport transfers and tourist places in Singapore.

MailScan 6.1 launched by MicroWorld

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:09:01 UTC

MicroWorld has recently announced its latest version of Anti virus software MailScan 6.1 for Mail servers. The Anti virus can saves mails from getting corrupted by different kinds of viruses and worms that float around in the internet, thereby, securing the content from getting corrupted.

MailScan 6.1 has Artificial Intelligence (AI) based NILP technology which is quiet effective over spam. The anti virus engine is freshly updated now and so both incoming and outgoing mails can be scanned for viruses and worms that usually cripple the system after getting into the inbox of the user. It also screens for virus alerts and spam alerts over the monitor.

There is a Scanner Administrator in the MailScan 6.1 which is quiet effective in covering the loop holes in the IE browser which lets viruses through and also helps in automatic downloading of updates. This software also enables the user to access and then either allow or block incoming e-mail attachments in the inbox.

EA's Brutal Legends finds launch date

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:04:25 UTC

Electronic Arts and Double Fine's most awaited game Brutal Legend's release date has now been finalized . The game will be released in America on 13th October and will see the face of the sun of Europe on 16th October and will be compatible with both Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 platforms.

The game developed by Tim Schafer, is filled with action and adventure and is a sure treat for gamers. This game promises fictitious action fight sequences and a terrific storyline. The lead character, by the name of Eddie Riggs is a roadie who has a liking for rods and is an aficionado of the heavy metal album covers. He looks out to form an ultimate band of 'rockers army' with big block V8, his guitar and a broad axe. The voice of this character is given by Jack Black, who is a Hollywood actor .

This game is expected to launch in India soon after its launch in North America and Europe.

Android Phone by Sony Ericsson gets delayed

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:03:41 UTC

A setback is now visible for all those who were really looking forward to the upcoming trendy Android based handset from Sony Ericsson and the reason is quite a simple one which entails the news of the launch of the device having been delayed.

Hideki Komiyama, CEO, Sony Ericsson disclosed that the launch is at present on hold as there is lots of precision and evaluation required for Android based devices. There are lot of processes involved like testing, evaluation of the consumer's reaction and an assessment of the handset demand which will require some time. All these reasons are amounting for the delay in the launch of handset at this stage.

The company is also facing difficulties owning to the worldwide financial meltdown like other handset manufacturing companies and this might be another reason.

Nokia 5800 XM upgraded again

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:27:52 UTC

Nokia had recently changed its 5800 XpressMusic with a firmware update last month and it has again repeated this act once again. The last update was made in view of providing a solution to the problem faced by Nokia 5800 XpressMusic which had quite a good demand in the market. The phone was already better performing after the previous incorporation of the update and it seems that with this new update, things are going to get much better.

Asia are getting the update in V21.0.0.25 format which is compatible with the product codes received by Asia. According to reports the update will bring a better camera and enhance the working ability in a well suited manner.

Adobe Flash for digital TVs

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:49:53 UTC

Adobe, the creator of Flash announced that they are developing a new Flash platform which can be loaded over set top boxes and digital TVs.

For fulfilling this plan Adobe has partnered with Broadcom, MediaTek and Sigma Designs. These companies manufacture system-on chips for set top boxes and the program will be loaded over the chips. This will bring a new definition for Adobe which was clearly seen for PCs and Mobiles.
The recent figures show a gradual growth in the digital market of about 12% annually which is likely to increase further by the year 2012.

Adobe has released a statement saying that the first gadget is for digital TVs and is expected by the end of this year in US and later set top boxes along with SoC chips will get introduced. Flash has not disclosed the names of TV makers who will agree for the Flash installation.. Silverlight from Microsoft is already a competitor for Flash but it has its own limitations of not being a standard for web content display in the market.

Mount Everest under cell phone coverage area

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:35:35 UTC

Nepal Telecom, mobile phones service provider of Nepal, declared its plans for getting cellular network over the World's highest mountain, Mount Everest. This announcement was taken after considering the trauma of the mountaineers, who scale the mountain with bulky satellite phones to remain in contact with the base camp. There will be a satellite antenna installed so that network can be established while one is way up to the mountain.

M & S will source 70% of its products from the land of India

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:31:58 UTC

Marks and Spencer(M & S) India CEO Mark Ashman disclosed that the company will source 70% of products from India in another 5 years . M & S is a well known British retailer group and it, at present sources 20% Indian products.

Ashman further said that sourcing will enable them to reduce prices. M & S last year partnered with Reliance Retail Ltd at 51% stake, but the expansion is being planned thoughtfully and not haphazardly due to the current market situation.

M & S Reliance India has 15 stores in India with a Flagship store in Mumbai. The alliance plan is to launch 50 outlets in another 5 years with an investment of £29 million which is about Rs 215 crore in Indian currency .

Asman further elaborated that they are not sure of reaching their aim exactly on time because the developers are slowing down on properties as unfavourable situation persists. This situation has indeed helped them in getting property at low prices. They are planning for 1 million square feet retail space and at least 15,000 to 20,000 square feet for M & S stores.

He further concluded that they will definitely lower down prices and target on premium products but they can do not plan of venturing into the field of value retailing.

Mobiles to showcase live IPL

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:30:39 UTC

DLF sponsored IPL (Indian Premier League) season 2 has already started and has become the most attractive sports event nowadays. With sport lovers wanting each and every bits and pieces of news about the match, there are websites, SMS updates and radio services which are constantly bringing the latest updates .

There is also an official IPL site known as www.iplt20.com which can provide live telecast of the match but only to those users who have installed Silverlight2 . The live coverage through http://live.iplt20.com was not very successful with lot of ups and downs. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has recently announced that IPL is now live over Mobile .

The mobile content rights of IPL now belong to Zenga Entertainment and will last till 2013 .TMT Investment Pvt Ltd was earlier the rights owner, so now one can watch IPL live over mobile handset through Zenga TV. To avail this opportunity one can download CricZenga application over mobile handsets. The concept is quiet nice, but it can cost too much over GPRS connection and only high end handsets would be able to show live Mobile TV from the service providers.

'Indian saris' book inaugurated in London

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:22:34 UTC

A book 'Design for India: Indian Saris ' whose author is Vijay Singh Katiyar, Senior Faculty, National Institute of Designs was unveiled in Britain recently .The book is based on the evolution of the Indian Saree which is being draped by Indian women for the last many years. The book also reveals the blend of Indian design in sarees with the traditional handloom industry of India. The Author researched for about twenty years to come up with this fabulous book which presents the handwoven Saree in a manner that defines India's traditional dressings. The author Katiyar stated that Indian Saree export amounts to 7% to 8% annually and the growth rate is maximum in UK and USA where there are many Indians. The book was launched by the hands of Baroness Shreela Flather at the Nehru Centre and she described it as a 'real feast'. The Co-publishers of the book were NID and the Wisdom tree, New Delhi.

Buffalo revealed a new portable DVD Drive

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:30:19 UTC

Buffalo Inc. has introduced a small, compact as well as extremely light weight DVD drive in India. The shining body looks quiet perfect to be fitted with the net book. The model has two colours, Black and White and conveniently gels in with the windows XP and Windows Vista operating system.

With an energy consumption of 7.5 W, this Japanese product is a sure wannabe gadget .The DVD comes with a warranty of 2 years and is priced at Rs 6300 from April 2009 in the Indian market.

Difficult time for Agra footwear industry

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:29:33 UTC

Agra footwear Industry is facing new challenges these days due to a decrease in export orders, poor credit facility. The effect is highly visible in the footwear manufacturing plants in Chandigarh and Agra. All this is resulting in reduction of the production capacity by 50 % .

Financial crisis has already gripped the Agra footwear industry which has reported a 30% drop in the export orders especially in the first quarter of 2009. Agra footwear industry which was at a growth rate of 27% for the last few years desperately needs some infrastructural reform.

According to market experts, Kanpur is acknowledged for the utility footwear export and Chennai has the biggest demand for men footwear whereas Agra is considered in the top level for fashion footwear for both men and women. They also concluded that the market situation is going to be better and export will certainly be up to 7 percent from 4 percent as other countries having businesses in the field of footwear export like China are facing import restriction and Eastern European countries are also witnessing a reduction in the footwear manufacturing cost.