Take a look at these things:
1. Palm swings to loss as Q4 revenue slides. More here.
2. Sony Ericsson issues profit warning for Q2. More here.
3. RIM's earnings improved, but fell short of market expectations. More here.
4. Siemens to cut another 172oo jobs (4% of workforce). More here.
Downturn is real and here to stay.
Have a great day,
RamP!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Bad experience with both HDFC and ICICI
Both HDFC and ICICI groups are the new faces of new India in the financial and banking sector. They have played their role in making the life of lot of us in India and have forced nationalized banks also to change with the changing times.
I have my accounts in both of these banks and also subscribe to MutualFunds from the AMCs of both these conglomorates. However, I'm in the middle of a painful experience dealing with ICICI AMC and HDFC Bank.
It all started when I noticed that there was no auto debit for a SIP with ICICI AMC, from my designated ICICI Bank account, but it was interesting to see that the units were allocated. However, I figured out that the money instead was debited from my HDFC account instead. Thanks to this unwanted debit from my HDFC account, I had to request my father not to present a cheque that I had given him, as it would have bounced. I complained to both ICICI and HDFC. So far I've made and received about 20 calls and have sent and received about 30 emails. HDFC blames ICICI and vice-versa. ICICI has washed-off its hands by telling from next month the SIP would be debited from my ICICI bank itself. HDFC is still clueless as to how did it allow ICICI to take money from my account when there was no mandate for them to do so. They are not giving me details of higher level officials to escalate despite my repeated requests. It scares me to note that anyone can take money from your account and you don't even get a proper response. Atleast I'm happy that money went into my own Mutual Fund account and not to someone else's. Never thought these two corporates would be so casual.
I have my accounts in both of these banks and also subscribe to MutualFunds from the AMCs of both these conglomorates. However, I'm in the middle of a painful experience dealing with ICICI AMC and HDFC Bank.
It all started when I noticed that there was no auto debit for a SIP with ICICI AMC, from my designated ICICI Bank account, but it was interesting to see that the units were allocated. However, I figured out that the money instead was debited from my HDFC account instead. Thanks to this unwanted debit from my HDFC account, I had to request my father not to present a cheque that I had given him, as it would have bounced. I complained to both ICICI and HDFC. So far I've made and received about 20 calls and have sent and received about 30 emails. HDFC blames ICICI and vice-versa. ICICI has washed-off its hands by telling from next month the SIP would be debited from my ICICI bank itself. HDFC is still clueless as to how did it allow ICICI to take money from my account when there was no mandate for them to do so. They are not giving me details of higher level officials to escalate despite my repeated requests. It scares me to note that anyone can take money from your account and you don't even get a proper response. Atleast I'm happy that money went into my own Mutual Fund account and not to someone else's. Never thought these two corporates would be so casual.
Buzz of the week - 23-Jun-08
1. Nokia buys remaining stake of Symbian
This week in the mobile world has been dominated by Nokia's decision to buy out the remaining shares of Symbian. Analysts and experts are of the view that Nokia took this step to counter the threat from Google's Android. It would be interesting to see how other players in the mobile world would be affected by this.
Interestingly, the valuation of Symbian hasn't changed too much over a period of years. In 2003, Samsung bought 5% stake for 17M Pounds (valuing the company at 340M pounds). Later in 2003, when Motorola sold its 19% stake of Psion to Nokia, Symbian's valuation was at 300M Pounds. The current buy by Nokia, values Symbian at 400M Pounds.
The deal has also come quite cheap to Nokia. In 2007, Symbian had a royalty earnings of 179M Pounds, 75% of which was from Nokia. So, Nokia anyways would have paid the 210M Pounds it spent on Symbian acquisition, by end 2009 anyways. More analysis by ARCChart here.
2. Virgin Mobile to acquire SK controlled Helio
Virgin Mobile has said it would acquire SK controlled Helio.
This week in the mobile world has been dominated by Nokia's decision to buy out the remaining shares of Symbian. Analysts and experts are of the view that Nokia took this step to counter the threat from Google's Android. It would be interesting to see how other players in the mobile world would be affected by this.
Interestingly, the valuation of Symbian hasn't changed too much over a period of years. In 2003, Samsung bought 5% stake for 17M Pounds (valuing the company at 340M pounds). Later in 2003, when Motorola sold its 19% stake of Psion to Nokia, Symbian's valuation was at 300M Pounds. The current buy by Nokia, values Symbian at 400M Pounds.
The deal has also come quite cheap to Nokia. In 2007, Symbian had a royalty earnings of 179M Pounds, 75% of which was from Nokia. So, Nokia anyways would have paid the 210M Pounds it spent on Symbian acquisition, by end 2009 anyways. More analysis by ARCChart here.
2. Virgin Mobile to acquire SK controlled Helio
Virgin Mobile has said it would acquire SK controlled Helio.
According to the Financial Times, Virgin Mobile USA last month reported net income of $4.8 million for the first quarter of the year, down 75% on the same period last year. It also said it expects to lose between 130,000 and 160,000 subscribers in the second quarter.
Unusually in the US, all of Virgin Mobile's 5.1 million customers are all pay-as-you-go whereas the norm is to tie customers into long contracts which are more profitable and predictable for operators. Helio brings almost 200,000 customers to the party, all of whom are on monthly contracts. The obvious thing for Virgin to do is build on this base and increase the number of contract customers. More here.
3. RIM Q profit doubles
(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Research In Motion reported a first-quarter profit of $482.5 million, up from the same period a year ago as revenue more than doubled.
RIM said that its profit amounted to $0.84 per diluted share for the three months ended May 31 compared with a profit of $223.2 million or $0.39 per diluted share a year ago.
Revenue in the quarter was $2.24 billion, up from $1.08 billion.
However, shares in the BlackBerry maker fell during after-hours trading because the earnings fell short of market expectations.
The company said it added 2.3 million net new BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter for a total of over 16 million subscribers.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Nokia's Symbian announcement and its effects
Nokia announced that they will buy-out the remaining shares in Symbian that they don't own for $410M. More interestingly Symbian, Series 60, UIQ and MOAP platforms are to be merged into an open-sourced platform over the next two years under the Eclipse Public License (EPL) version 1.0. The move seem to be aimed at countering threats from Google's Android and Apple's iPhone platform.
The question is so what? If we look at the various players, developers like me would be the most happiest one as we need not have to churn out multiple versions of the same application on several platforms (like having an app on both Series60 and UIQ). We can now focus more on "changing the world" rather than waste time making the same thing work on various phones as we have a few less platforms to worry about. Nokia may not gain much as they were anyways driving Symbian. Other Symbian partners like Sony Ericsson and Motorola may save some money as they too have to worry only about a few platforms (but wouldn't it make every OEM's look-and-feel kind of similar?). This would sure give some head aches to Google Android. On the other hand Apple perhaps would't care. Interesting to see how would RIM respond.
Meanwhile, Google has denied that Android is delayed.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
1983 Cricket world cup
25-Jun-1983, a special day for lovers of cricket in India. 25years back, on this day India pulled off an amazing victory over the mighty West Indies and as they say, rest is history. I very vividly remember this special day. I was about 14 then, living a small town Chamarajanagar about 150kms south-east of Bangalore. There were only a handful of houses that had a TV set then. Such houses used to sport an antenna above their roof and was by and large a status symbol. We didn't had TV in our house. I had to use my dad's influence to get a seat in the jam-packed house of a neighbor that had a TV. Gavaskar went quickly, but Srikkanth continued and what appeared then an whirlwind innings. However we all lost hope when India were bundled out for 183. We left the house dejected only to allow the people of that house to eat something and enjoy some privacy for 30mins or so.
We came back and were ecstatic to see Gordon Greenidge shouldering arms to Balwinder Sandhu and getting bowled (I don't think anyone that had tuned in will ever forget this dismissal). There was a small problem, someone who couldn't get inside the house had cut the cable that used link the antenna and the TV. By the time we got it fixed, we were heart broken to see Viv Richards in the rampaging mood. He got out and few more wickets went cheaply and we started to think, "may be....may be...". Dujon started a rear guard defence and it was all over with a great spell by Mohinder Amarnath that read 7-0-12-3. There were crackers all around and celebrations went past midnight even in remote towns like Chamarajanagar. Little did we know then that this event would be a major turning point in the history of Indian Cricket.
Since then Indian Cricket has progressed quite a lot. But nothing comes closer to this victory. My son, 10yrs old now and who is extremely passionate about cricket, however doesn't understand why I'm so excited about a victory that was achieved 25yrs back. Couldn't explain him anyways.
Here is a link to cricinfo's coverage and here is a youtube clip of the finals.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Are you a corporate casuality?
Recently I chanced upon Pamela Skillings, who has authored an interesting book titled - Escape from corporate America: A practical guide to creating the career of your dreams. The book (still not available in Bengaluru) promises to:
• assess your job’s “suck” factor–from terminal boredom to boss from hell
• identify your true calling–brainstorm fantasy careers and test-drive your dream jobs
• develop your Escape Plan–set goals, figure out your timing, and evaluate your finances and health insurance options
• find jobs that don’t bite–entrepreneurial corporate environments, energetic start-ups, the nonprofit sector, and flexible work options
• be your own boss–explore entrepreneurship and freelancing, assemble an advisory team, and start a business while you collect a paycheck
• follow your creative dreams–learn how to make time for your artistic passion and develop a plan to quit your day job
• overcome any obstacle–deal with fear, doubt, negative people, and other bumps along the road
Also read the book's manifesto from changethis.com and Pamela's interview on Guy Kawasaki's s blog, where she answers questions like How do I know if I should get out of the company I work for? Is there more danger in sticking too long with a job or leaving too soon? How can I get a job that doesn’t suck? etc.,
You may want to take the quiz - Are you a corporate casuality? and find out for yourself where you stand w.r.t your current job.
• assess your job’s “suck” factor–from terminal boredom to boss from hell
• identify your true calling–brainstorm fantasy careers and test-drive your dream jobs
• develop your Escape Plan–set goals, figure out your timing, and evaluate your finances and health insurance options
• find jobs that don’t bite–entrepreneurial corporate environments, energetic start-ups, the nonprofit sector, and flexible work options
• be your own boss–explore entrepreneurship and freelancing, assemble an advisory team, and start a business while you collect a paycheck
• follow your creative dreams–learn how to make time for your artistic passion and develop a plan to quit your day job
• overcome any obstacle–deal with fear, doubt, negative people, and other bumps along the road
Also read the book's manifesto from changethis.com and Pamela's interview on Guy Kawasaki's s blog, where she answers questions like How do I know if I should get out of the company I work for? Is there more danger in sticking too long with a job or leaving too soon? How can I get a job that doesn’t suck? etc.,
You may want to take the quiz - Are you a corporate casuality? and find out for yourself where you stand w.r.t your current job.
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Art of the Start
Last weekend I completed reading Guy Kawasaki's book The Art of the Start: The time-tested, battle-hardened guide for anyone starting anything. What an amazing experience. Guy's witty way of presentation makes it difficult drop the book for anything else. Infact I completed the book in just two days. Be sure to watch the exceptionally brilliant Art of the Start video.
The book is divided into 11 chapters, each dealing with a specific phase of the entrepreneur's journey. Throughout the book Guy stresses that one would succeed if you start out on the premise of "making the word a better place" as against starting out an enterprise with the sole goal of making money. He also encourages starting out as a "services" organization and then moving into a "products" organization and not the other way round - which is the biggest takeaway for me.
What impressed me most about the book is its straight forwardness, principles behind each of the advice/tip and metrics to measure against. Each chapter (the 11 chapters are on Art of Starting, Positioning, Pitching, Writing a business plan, Bootstrapping, Recruiting, Raising capital, Partnering, Branding, Rainmaking and on the Art of Being a Mensch), begins with a GIST (Great Ideas for Starting Things) and an explanation of key points of the chapter. The MiniChapter is a todo list and FAQ answers several questions you might still have at the end of the chapter. The book is littered with great quotes and each chapter has recommended list of books to further enhance your understanding. To test your understanding of the subject "exercises" pops-up at regular intervals.
This book is a must read not only for budding entrepreneurs but also for execs in the bigger companies that are trying to get funded for an interesting project.
The book is divided into 11 chapters, each dealing with a specific phase of the entrepreneur's journey. Throughout the book Guy stresses that one would succeed if you start out on the premise of "making the word a better place" as against starting out an enterprise with the sole goal of making money. He also encourages starting out as a "services" organization and then moving into a "products" organization and not the other way round - which is the biggest takeaway for me.
What impressed me most about the book is its straight forwardness, principles behind each of the advice/tip and metrics to measure against. Each chapter (the 11 chapters are on Art of Starting, Positioning, Pitching, Writing a business plan, Bootstrapping, Recruiting, Raising capital, Partnering, Branding, Rainmaking and on the Art of Being a Mensch), begins with a GIST (Great Ideas for Starting Things) and an explanation of key points of the chapter. The MiniChapter is a todo list and FAQ answers several questions you might still have at the end of the chapter. The book is littered with great quotes and each chapter has recommended list of books to further enhance your understanding. To test your understanding of the subject "exercises" pops-up at regular intervals.
This book is a must read not only for budding entrepreneurs but also for execs in the bigger companies that are trying to get funded for an interesting project.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Buzz of the week - 16-Jun-08
1. Sprint drops price of new Instinct
| |
Sprint is debuting its iPhone-killer smartphone, the new Samsung Instinct, at a cheaper price than previously announced to counteract AT&T's plan to subsidize the 3G version of the iPhone. Sprint announced the Instinct will cost $130 with a $100 rebate and a two-year contract instead of $200 it announced earlier this month.
There may be a cost difference between the phones but the pricing plans will be about the same. Sprint customers who purchase the Instinct must also purchase a pricing plan offering unlimited data. Those plans start at $70 per month. AT&T requires a voice plan for about $40 and a minimum $30-per month data plan, up from $20 for the original iPhone.
2. Singapore's WiFi initiative thrives
| |
An initiative by the government's InfoComm Development Authority in conjunction with operators iCell, QMax and the incumbent SingTel, the country has blanketed its population with 7,200 hotspots. The initiative, called Wireless@SG, was developed in 2006 and now has about 850,000 users who access the network for at least three hours per month to surf the net, send and receive email and access social networking sites. More here.
3. Study: Men dominate mobile web browsing 9 to 1
| |
When it comes to mobile web browsing, men outnumber women almost nine to one according to a new study released by browser development firm Opera Software. Opera reports that more than 88 percent of mobile web surfers worldwide are male--in addition, the majority of consumers accessing the mobile web via the firm's Opera Mini browser are between the ages of 18 and 27, with more than 14.7 million total users browsing 2.9 billion pages in May 2008 alone, a 23 percent increase since March. In all, Opera Mini served more than 43.2 million MB of data traffic in May, increasing 30.4 percent in two months' time. More here.
4. 3jam unveils SuperText messaging service
| |
Mobile messaging firm 3jam announced the private beta launch of SuperText, a web-based text messaging service that employs patent-pending PresenceText technology to route texts to a user's computer or mobile device based on their location. According to 3jam, SuperText enables users to begin text conversations via PC, enjoying the benefits of a full QWERTY keyboard and free messaging--they may also continue the dialogue on their mobile device. SuperText also promises familiar IM features including conversation threading, online message history and Reply All communication. More here.
5. Nokia to open mobile advertising labs
| |
Nokia said it will open a series of "Ad Labs" in an effort to verse traditional advertising agencies in the intricacies of the mobile advertising model. The handset giant will open Ad Labs in London and Boston, promising training and certification for "creative and media personnel at agencies serving global brands" according to Nokia vice president and head of mobile advertising Mike Baker, speaking Wednesday at the Cannes International Advertising Festival. "We want to be a catalyst in the mobile advertising ecosystem," Baker added. "It is seen as somewhat of a black art practiced in a cottage-industry fashion... There are a lot of mobile ad technologies now, so arguments about reach and measurement issues are not relevant. It is creative that is holding the medium back. There are not a lot of practitioners in planning and creative concepting [for mobile ad campaigns]." More here.
| Webinar |
| Perfecting the Mobile User Experience - June 25 Despite overwhelming choice in phones and applications, consumers still struggle with the user experience - which means revenue loss for operators and developers. Join FierceWireless, Jupiter Research, and Spirent Communications to discuss overcoming these persistent issues. Register now! |
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Top 100 Management and Leadership Blogs
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Buzz of the week - 2-Jun-08
1. Verizon to acquire Alltel
It has now been confirmed that Verizon Wireless would buy-out Alltel Corp in an all cash deal worth about $28.1M. This will make Verizon Wireless the No. 1 wireless operator in the U.S. with nearly 80 million subscribers. Verizon currently has more than 65.7 million customers while Alltel has about 13.2 million subscribers in 34 states. AT&T will move to the No. 2 position with about 71.4 million customers.
It has now been confirmed that Verizon Wireless would buy-out Alltel Corp in an all cash deal worth about $28.1M. This will make Verizon Wireless the No. 1 wireless operator in the U.S. with nearly 80 million subscribers. Verizon currently has more than 65.7 million customers while Alltel has about 13.2 million subscribers in 34 states. AT&T will move to the No. 2 position with about 71.4 million customers.
The deal makes sense in many ways. Alltel has been a long-time roaming partner for Verizon and it currently operates in 57 markets that Verizon does not serve. And there are more similarities: Like Verizon, Alltel is a CDMA carrier using the Qualcomm's BREW platform for content delivery. Alltel also has recently announced plans to migrate to the LTE technology for its 4G path, a move that Verizon has also said it will make.
Industry experts feel that LG perhaps is the big winner at the expense of Kyocera. Read the full story here.
2. Will Apple announce 3G iPhone?
Anticipation is mounting in advance of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday in San Francisco, where the 3G iPhone is expected to make its debut. Analysts and others are speculating on what special features the phone will have and how much it will cost the consumer.
No one really knows for sure what the 3G iPhone will cost or what special functions it will enable. Fierce has compiled a slideshow roundup of some of the 3G iPhone rumors and releases. Click here to check it out.
3. Gartner's top 10 disruptive technologies
Gartner cites social networking technologies, web mashups, multicore and hybrid processors and cloud computing are among the ten most disruptive technologies between now and 2012. More here.
Reading list for Jun'08
Ask and It Is Given: Learning to manifest your desires
I got interested in this book as the book is about the teachings of a non-physical entity "Abraham". Upon a quick glance I found out it talks about the "power of thoughts", my favourite subject and the importance of vibrational energy.
The Art of the Start: The time-tested, battle-hardened guide for anyone starting anything
I have been reading all the books by Guy Kawasaki and follow his blog regularly. In my opinion he is one of the top 10 communicators in the business world. His talks, writings and even his role as a moderator of panel discussions, are characterized by quick wit and insightful comments. If you have not watched his video on The Art of the Start, do it now.
Presence: An Exploration of Profound Change in People, Organizations and Society
Like Guy Kawasaki, I've been highly influenced by the works of Peter Senge, especially about his ideas on personal vision and on learning organizations. So when I found this book, I bought it immediately, even though the reviews of this book are not all that great. It also has a new format in terms of presentation - the book is presented as a discussion among the authors. You can get more details on this book here.
How You Can be More Interesting
Edward de Bono again, is one of my favorite authors. This book has a series of exercises and sounds like a fun thing to do.
What RamP's Reading
2011
2010
2009
2008
2010
2009
- Month of Dec-09
- Month of Nov-09
- Month of Sep-09
- Month of Aug-09
- Month of Jul-09
- Month of Jun-09
- Month of May-09
- Month of Apr-09
- Month of Mar'09
- Month of Feb'09
- Month of Jan'09
2008
- Month of Dec'08
- Month of Nov'08
- Month of Oct'08
- Month of Sep'08
- Month of Aug'08
- Month of Jul'08
- Month of Jun'08
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
