HP TouchSmart TM2t
? Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
? Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 (1.30GHz, 800MHz FSB) w/512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4550 Graphics
?4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
? 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
? Webcam Only
? Intel Wireless-N Card
watergate pregnant man outside lands 2012 lineup beloved ufc results water for elephants old school
Just as Pegatron has managed to snatch more Apple contracts away from Foxconn, so too has it attracted greater scrutiny of the conditions faced by its 70,000 workers. China Labor Watch, the US-based worker welfare monitor, now alleges that Chinese factories run by the up-and-coming Taiwan-based manufacturer are "even worse" than Foxconn's. It claims to have found health and safety violations, poor living conditions in dorms, and the coercion of workers by withholding their pay or identity cards -- in other words, the sort of stuff that breaches both Chinese law and Apple's supplier policy. Its latest report also accuses Apple of failing to treat abuses with the same urgency that it applies to lapses in product quality.
For its part, Apple has responded by highlighting the fact that it has audited Pegatron facilities 15 times in the last six years, and that a recent survey found that Pegatron employees were working an average of 46 hours per week. It also said it had dealt promptly with earlier instances of ID cards being withheld, but admitted that China Labor Watch's report includes "claims that are new to us" and that will need to be investigated "thoroughly."
[Image credit: Jay Greene, CNET]
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple
Source: WSJ, China Labor Watch
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/lver0WBw1dE/
john derbyshire kinkade thomas kinkade paintings navy jet crash virginia beach isiah thomas easter recipes live free or die hard
GUANGZHOU, China/SEOUL ? Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook believes that ?over the arc of time? China is a huge opportunity for his pathbreaking company. But time looks to be on the side of rival Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. which has been around far longer and penetrated much deeper into the world?s most populous country.
Apple Inc this week said its revenue in Greater China, which also includes Hong Kong and Taiwan, slumped 43 per cent to $4.65 billion from the previous quarter. That was also 14 per cent lower from the year-ago quarter. Sales were weighed down by a sharp drop in revenues from Hong Kong. ?It?s not totally clear why that occurred,? Cook said on a conference call with analysts.?
Neither is it totally clear what Apple?s strategy is to deal with Samsung ? not to mention a host of smaller, nimbler Chinese challengers.?
Today, in the war for what both sides acknowledge is the 21st century?s most important market, Samsung is whipping its American rival. The South Korean giant now has a 19 per cent share of the $80 billion smartphone market in China, a market expected to surge to $117 billion by 2017, according to International Data Corp (IDC). That?s 10 percentage points ahead of Apple, which has fallen to 5th in terms of China market share.
Cook said Apple planned to double the number of its retail stores over the next two years ? it currently has eight flagship stores in China and three in Hong Kong. But, he added, Apple will invest in distribution ?very cautiously because we want to do it with great quality?.
Samsung, with a longer history in China, now has three times the number of retail stores as Apple, and has been more aggressive in courting consumers and creating partnerships with phone operators. It also appears to be in better position, over an arc of time, to fend off the growing assault of homegrown competitors such as Lenovo Group Ltd, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp, former company executives, analysts and industry sources say.
Apple declined requests for comment for this article.
?? ?
Varied models ?
?
Samsung?s history and corporate culture could hardly be more different than Apple?s, the iconic Silicon Valley start-up founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. Lee Byung-Chull started Samsung in 1938 as a noodle and sugar maker. It grew over the decades into an industrial powerhouse, or chaebol as Koreans call the family owned conglomerates that dominate the nation?s economy and are run with military-like discipline.
Apple, by contrast, became the epitome of Californian cool, an image the company revels in. That hip image translates in China ? its stores are routinely packed ? but hasn?t been enough to overcome the more entrenched Samsung.?
A stuffy electronics bazaar in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen illustrates part of the reason why.?
Samsung Galaxys and Apple iPhones of different generations sit side by side, glinting under bright display lights as vendors call out to get customers? attention. With its varied models, Samsung smartphones outnumber iPhones at least four to one.
While Apple releases only one smartphone a year, priced at the premium end of the market, Samsung brings out multiple models annually with different specifications and at different price points in China.
And those models, analysts say, are loaded with features tailored specifically for the local market: apps such POCO.cn,? the most popular photo sharing site in China, or the two slots for SIM cards (Apple offers one), which allows service from multiple cell carriers, either at home or abroad.
?The Chinese just love features. They want their phone to have 50 different things that they?re never going to use,? said Michael Clendenin, managing director of technology consultancy RedTech Advisers. ?Apple just doesn?t play that game. Unfortunately, if you want to hit the mainstream market in China, and you want a lot of market share percentage points, you have to offer the Swiss army knife of cellphones.?
?? ?
?Setting the pace?
?
Analysts believe Samsung?s increasing strength in China is a critical reason behind its rival?s possible intention to introduce globally a new and cheaper iPhone model, as well as one with bigger screens ? a staple of Samsung?s offerings.
Said a Samsung executive with experience in China: ?We definitely think we?re setting the pace there. They are having to respond to us.?
Most audaciously, Samsung has gone after Apple not simply by offering lower priced smartphones, but by attacking its rival directly in the pricier end of the market. ?We put a lot of emphasis on the high end market in China,? co-CEO JK Shin told Reuters in an interview.
Samsung launched a China-only luxury smartphone together with China Telecom marketed by actor Jackie Chan that retails for about 12,000 yuan ($2,000). The flip phone, named ?heart to the world,? is encased in a slim black and rose gold metal body. The sleek look ? called ?da qi? (elegantly grand) ? is coveted by Chinese when they shop for cars, sofas or phones.
?There are a lot of ?VVIP?s? in China, and for them we launched luxury phones promoted by Jackie Chan. This helps target niche customers and build brand equity,? said Lee Young-hee, executive vice president of Samsung?s mobile business.
While Samsung won?t sell millions of these smartphones, the creation of the phone in conjunction with a carrier reinforces Samsung?s willingness to go local ? and tap into niche markets.
?The key point is that Samsung consistently adapts to the local market,? said TZ Wong, a Singapore-based technology analyst with IDC.
Apple?s latest mobile operating system offers links to popular Chinese applications like Sina?s microblogging platform Weibo, but the application itself must be downloaded onto the phone. On all of Samsung?s entries, it?s already there.
?People know intellectually that Samsung is from Korea, but when it comes to the messaging there is always a local face,? Wong said.
?? ?
Retail presence
?
Samsung opened its first office in China in 1985 in Beijing ? an era in which it was all but inconceivable that Apple and Samsung would end up in one of the world?s most intense corporate grudge matches. Like other South Korean chaebols, Samsung was a first mover in China, using the market primarily as a base to produce electronics for the world.
In contrast, Apple?s big push in China came only recently, with the advent of the smartphone age roughly five years ago.
The early entry gave Samsung an undeniable edge, and it adapted fast to a rapidly changing environment. By the mid-1990s, with the economy booming, Samsung made the strategic decision to treat the Chinese market not just as a production base, but to start marketing to China higher-priced electronics, said Nomura researcher Choi Chang-hee, who wrote a history of Samsung?s experience in China.
That shift has meant Samsung?s retail presence in China far outstrips Apple?s. Aside from selling via the distribution outlets of the three major telecom carriers, Samsung also has a strong retail presence.?
It got it through its partners Gome Electrical Appliances and Suning Commerce Group, as well as its own ?Experience? stores and small retailers all over the country.?
Apple works through the same channels, but its relatively late entry means it has a significantly smaller presence. Samsung, for example, has more than 200 official distributors and resellers in Guangzhou province, while Apple lists 95.?
Over the last two decades, Samsung has also taken pains to build relationships with Chinese government officials and ? perhaps more critically ? the three major telecom carriers.
The notion of the importance of connections ? or ?guanxi? ? in China is occasionally overrated in business. Not, according to Samsung?s Shin, in this case. ?It?s our core policy to keep friendly relationships with the operators,? he said. In China,? each carrier uses a different technology and that requires Samsung ?to tweak our smartphones to their request.??
?It?s not easy? but we do this to be more operator friendly,? Shin said.
Contrast that with the ongoing negotiations Apple has had with China Mobile, the largest cellphone operator. For years the two sides have been unable to come to an agreement on revenue sharing, effectively precluding Apple from hundreds of millions of potential customers. ?
?? ?
Scrutiny from the top
?
Samsung?s reach extends higher than just the CEOs of the top state-owned telecom companies. Top executives have met each of the last several Chinese leaders, most recently Xi Jinping, who spent time in April with vice chairman Jay Y. Lee, son of K.H. Lee, Samsung Electronics chairman.
?What surprised me most? was that they [Chinese leadership] know very well about Samsung. They even have a group studying us?, Lee said.
The Chinese government has also made clear it?s well aware of Apple ? though not always in a good way. In April, state media bashed Apple for its ?arrogance,? protesting among other things that its current 1-year service warranty was insufficient. Apple initially dismissed those criticisms, but Cook later apologised to Chinese consumers.
Samsung?s success in China has it roots, one former executive said, in a previous obsession for the company: its desire not to replicate the mistakes made by Japanese rivals.
?Samsung spent a lot of time benchmarking Sony, Toshiba and Panasonic,? said Mark Newman, who spent six years in Samsung?s global strategy group and is now an industry analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in Hong Kong.?
?One of the things that came out of that is the realisation that the insular approach has its drawbacks, and so Samsung has made an effort over the last 10 years to be much more global.?
This strategy of decentralisation is plainly evident in China, he said, home now to more Samsung employees than any country outside South Korea.?
?? ?
Fighting high?
and low
?
Samsung now leads in both low-end and high-end segments in China, according to IDC, and its logic of going after both ends of the market is straightforward. In China, where the average wage is roughly $640 per month, many users looking to upgrade from feature phones to smartphones cannot afford Apple.
By bracketing the market with multiple models, Samsung can breed deep relationships with customers, many of whom, market research shows, trade up to more expensive models as they get older. Playing high and low also positions Samsung to fend off the intensifying competition from Chinese firms such as Lenovo and Huawei and literally hundreds of smaller local players.
?That?s where the next battle for Samsung will be fought,? said Newman. ?We?ll have to see if Apple does introduce a new, cheaper model for China ? and the world.?
Source: http://jordantimes.com/how-samsung-is-beating-apple-in-china
milwaukee bucks bear grylls us news law school rankings gael glen rice jr bars lindzi cox
Source: http://rss.news.yahoo.com/rss/nkorea
Who Won The Voice Miley Cyrus Twerking Jesus Shuttlesworth Michael Hastings mac miller bruno mars Hunter Hayes
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151552355966987&set=a.331864511986.156956.9815486986&type=1
puerto rico primary manning peyton florida state meghan mccain wilson chandler bristol motor speedway
Fish wasn't pleased by this, and began to have an extremely hetaed argument with Beer on Twitter. The majority of their tweets are not suitable for posting here, however this all culminated in a tweet by Fish:
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Phil Fish via Twitter im done. FEZ II is canceled. goodbye. [sic] |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Phil Fish via Joystiq It's true, |
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Polytron via Twitter It's with a heavy heart that we announce that FEZ II has been cancelled and is no longer in development. We apologize for the disappointment [sic] |
Source: http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=29568&goto=newpost
walking dead season finale matt flynn denver news frozen planet creighton new smyrna beach st. joseph
Source: earthquake.usgs.gov --- Thursday, July 25, 2013
Thursday, July 25, 2013 22:36:37 UTC Thursday, July 25, 2013 03:36:37 PM at epicenter Depth : 1.30 km (0.81 mi) ...
Source: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/nc72033555.php
crystal cathedral sxsw st. patrick s day brandon lloyd brandon lloyd celtic thunder fabrice muamba collapse
Samsung has released its audited results for the second quarter, and the company is reporting a net profit of 7.77 trillion won ($6.96 billion.) That's plenty of cash and up from the same period last year, however it warned investors growth momentum in its mobile department may slow in pace. Of course, it's still growing, and sales of its Galaxy S 4 and Galaxy Note 8.0 contributed to a nine percent bump in quarterly revenue for the mobile department. Samsung plans to keep profits high by focusing on "offering differentiated smartphone displays...including flexible display technology" and lowering the cost of its OLED screens. In TVs, profits were also up on more demand for 60-inch+ sets as well as mid-range and low end versions. Samsung is also rolling out Ultra HD and curved OLED TVs in the US, while focusing on more mass-market designs in emerging markets.
Filed under: HD, Mobile, Samsung
Source: Samsung Q2 2013 results (PDF)
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Nefk3zXYZIU/
miss canada justin bieber boyfriend marianas trench camille grammer camille grammer us supreme court breaking dawn part 2 trailer
http://sxc.hu/
Addis Ababa - Sudan has postponed the shutdown of pipelines carrying oil from South Sudan to allow time for investigating claims that both sides support rebels in one another's territories, Ethiopia's Foreign Affairs ministry said.
Sudan, the sole conduit for South Sudan's oil exports, said earlier this month it would close two cross-border oil pipelines within two months and insisted that South Sudan shut oil production by August 7 unless it gave up support for rebels operating across their border.
?The government of Sudan has agreed to postpone for at least two weeks the deadline by which it will shut down the pipelines carrying oil from landlocked South Sudan for export through Port Sudan,? the Ethiopian foreign ministry said on Friday.
The African Union and regional bloc IGAD stepped up efforts earlier this week to prevent the production shutdown by naming three generals to investigate Sudanese allegations that South Sudan is supporting anti-Khartoum rebels.
South Sudan has denied the claim and accuses Sudan of backing rebels in its Jonglei state.
The generals travelled to Khartoum on Tuesday and are set to visit Juba soon as part of a six-week mission.
South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan in 2011, depends on oil exports for its government budget, and diplomats worry that a shutdown could undermine its stability.
Closure of the pipelines would also hit the economy of Sudan, which needs South Sudan's payment of oil transit fees.
Ethiopia had hosted previous two-year talks between the two foes, which culminated in the signing of deals in September to restart oil exports and demarcate their border. - Reuters
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/sudan-delays-shutdown-of-oil-pipelines-1.1553467
Siberia robin thicke kaley cuoco big brother Siberia Tv Show pharrell pharrell
Investors and traders are usually on the lookout for new research ideas that will generate higher income or more profits. 24/7 Wall St. reviews many analyst research calls from Wall Street and from boutique firms to find great ideas in value stocks, growth stocks and dividend stocks. Some are stocks to buy, while some ideas are even stocks to sell. These are 10 of the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen from select Wall Street research calls this Thursday.
Avago Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: AVGO) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY) was raised to Outperform from Perform by Oppenheimer.
Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital Markets.
Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) was upgraded at several firms after the social media giant blew out earnings. Estimates have been raised at numerous firms and outright upgrades were seen from JMP Securities, BTIG (boutique) and Evercore. Facebook shares are up 26% at $33.50 in active trading.
Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Outperform at RBC Capital Markets.
Northrup Grumman Corp. (NYSE: NOC) was raised to Neutral from Underperform at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is down more than 30% after a ghastly warning over collections and reimbursements. Lazard downgraded it to Neutral and William Blair downgraded it to Market Perform.
WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup.
We have two issues happening at the major money center banks. First is that they are now almost all at premiums to book value, and the other issue is that Deutsche Bank just raised its targets on all of them.
Jon C. Ogg
Daft Punk Joyce Brothers atari breakout Amys Baking Company oj simpson chicago bulls ncis
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://networks.org/?src=abcau:2013-07-26:study-finds-drug-testing-will-not-stop-cheats:4846622
mickelson how to tie a tie sweet potato recipes the sound of music celebration church new york auto show 2012 tulsa
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://www.facebook.com/JacksonSun/posts/10151749594834511
Animal Crossing New Leaf wwdc santa monica college Shannon Richardson Terrilynn Monette Belmont Stakes National Donut Day
Buyers are supposed to be influenced only by audience numbers, not whether media people foot the bill for their parties.
Digiday's Jack Marshall published the email that has been circulating the agency world:
?Hello party people,
Looking forward to seeing you all tonight!
I have two favors that I hope you can help me with ? as it is James? going away party, everyone is already expecting it to be 1000000x crazier than any other going away party. Also, [redacted bar] is known to serve all cocktails in a 16 oz beer glass, so double the alcohol for everyone!
1) Would a few of you mind pre-ordering food this evening (delivery time around 7-8) to be delivered to the bar? Want to make sure no one gets too tanked at 7 pm
2) Would another kind saint deliver some Gatorades and greasy breakfast sandwiches to the agency tomorrow morning around 9:30 (I can be the point of contact)? As it?s Thursday and not a Friday, we can?t have work productivity start at 3 pm.. when the hangovers go away! We need to make sure our collective campaigns are on track! We have a dept of around 90 people?
Thanks in advance and see you tonight!?
That's pretty straight forward.
The Zenith employee even hinted at the necessity of the ad sellers, who depend on buyers' business, to provide the food gifts. "We need to make sure our collective campaigns are on track!" the supervisor writes.
Gifts are commonly exchanged in the media buying and selling world. In fact, there are sites dedicated to helping ad sales people exchange information about how to get buyers to make a deal.
Here's an example of a conversation from SellerCrowd.com:
Titans70:?How do you get into [Company, Exec 1 and Exec 2] are impossible to hammer down?
Proche15:? they'll take a mani/pedi
The party is tonight, so sellers still have time to plan out appropriate snacks for a department of 90 people.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/zenith-media-asks-ad-sellers-to-buy-hangover-food-post-party-2013-7
Grandparents Day 2012 army wives 60 minutes go daddy Tom Kenny Long Island Medium Alfonso Ribeiro
