Why is BlackBerry?s CEO being so weird about the low-end market?

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins

BlackBerry (BBRY) executives have a history of making condescending comments to analysts, but this time, Thorsten Heins has really broke new ground in haughtiness. At an Ontario conference, Mr. Heins was asked about the low-end smartphone market and he firmly stated that his company is ?not going to get into $50-60 segment,? Bloomberg reported. This, of course, is pure straw man construction. Nobody thinks BlackBerry should or can get into the $50-60 price segment. Mostly because that price segment does not exist. There are no $50 smartphones.

[More from BGR: Leaked photos may finally reveal Samsung?s Galaxy S IV]

No one believes that BlackBerry should get into the $100-120 price segment, either. The thing everyone wants to know is when BlackBerry intends to enter the $200-250 price segment. This is a real smartphone price segment that exists in the real world. This is the price segment where models such as the?Micromax Canvas 2 and Karbonn S1 Titanium are making huge market share gains in regions like Asia. This is the price segment where Windows Phones like Nokia?s (NOK) Lumia 520 are entering right now. This is the price segment where Samsung (005930) and HTC (2498) are triumphing from Brazil to Malaysia.

[More from BGR: Google ?X Phone? specs reportedly revealed: Quad-core CPU, 4.7-inch HD display, 16MP camera]

You see, the biggest problem BlackBerry is now facing is the global subscriber base erosion that started in the November quarter. BlackBerry?s subscriber base shrank for the first time in the company?s history, by a relatively sharp 2 million subscribers. This happened because subscriber growth in markets like Nigeria, South Africa, the Philippines and Indonesia is no longer strong enough to offset the weakness in markets like North America and Europe. That BlackBerry sub growth slowdown in Africa and Asia is directly linked to the loss of competitiveness of its cheap Curve product range against Samsung, Huawei, ZTE, Spice and Micromax? in the sub-$250 price category.

The question of when a competitive, cheap Curve model debuts in emerging markets is thus extremely important. BlackBerry?s future may hinge on when it can get a solid, sub-$250 smartphone out in Africa and Asia. So the decision of BlackBerry?s CEO to brush off this question by a snide comment about ?not entering $50-$60 segment? is not only completely inane, it is insulting for the company shareholders.

Nobody is expecting BlackBerry to produce a smartphone that is cheaper than any other smartphone in the world. People simply want to know when BlackBerry intends to enter the price segment where smartphone volume growth is now exploding. Mr. Heins?s?defensiveness and shiftiness?on this topic is not encouraging.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-blackberry-ceo-being-weird-low-end-market-162045552.html

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No Firefox web browser for iPhone or iPad unless Apple relaxes its rules

Mozilla has no plans to bring its Firefox browser to the iPhone or iPad in the future and it is putting the blame firmly at Apple?s door. Mozilla vice president Jay Sullivan was speaking at the mobile browser wars panel at SXSW Interactive. According to CNET:

The sticking point for Mozilla is not being able to carry over its sophisticated rendering and javascript engines to iOS. Essentially, the organization doesn't feel like it can build the browser it wants to for Apple's platform, Sullivan told CNET.

Of course this should come as no great surprise to iOS users; the browser debate has been rumbling on for a long time. The App Store already offers a lot of different web browsers which include the likes of Google Chrome, Dolphin Browser and more.

The fact that none of these alternative browsers can be set as the default browser is hindering enough. When you also factor in the lack of access to the Safari exclusive Nitro JavaScript engine; which considerably speeds up the browsing experience, you can see why it is not an attractive platform for third party browsers.

Nitro gets its speed by using a just-in-time compiler that can execute code faster, but at the expense of security. Given the amount of security exploits that target web content, Apple only uses it in aspects of iOS it can be completely responsible for securing, namely Safari and in web.app (web apps clipped to the Home screen). Third party apps are restricted to UIWebView, which uses the older, more secure yet slower JavaScript engine. That means all alternate browsers can really offer are different interfaces and add-on services, like Chrome does with tabs and sync.

Now that Mozilla is making their own mobile operating system, however, perhaps they can lead by example and show how alternate browsers can run with their own HTML and JavaScript engines, unrestricted, and in a completely secure manner.

Source: CNET

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/6W0ANgReu0Q/story01.htm

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New center offers help for dogs consumed by fear

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? People want their dog to be a friend, not afraid.

But sometimes, fear grips dogs so tightly they shake, cower, bite, growl or pee. It can be constant, painful and hard to overcome. Such dread can consume a dog when it's freed from a cage at a puppy mill or hoarder's home because that's the only life the dog has ever known.

Until now, it was up to animal shelters to ease the fears, knowing if they didn't, euthanasia was the likely alternative. But this week, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals opens its Behavioral Rehabilitation Center at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in Madison, N.J.

It's a two-year research project being financed by the ASPCA.

For now, dogs seized from puppy mills and hoarders will be the primary patients, said Kristen Collins, ASPCA's director of anti-cruelty behavior rehabilitation and director of the center. It will also include some dogs that have been confined for long stretches as evidence in court cases.

Dogs will come from shelters across the country as well as from seizures involving the ASPCA.

It's groundbreaking and exciting, Collins said. "It's the first ever facility that's dedicated strictly to providing rehabilitation for dogs that are victims of animal cruelty."

The research will also provide some numbers, Collins said. No one knows how many shy dogs are being placed in homes now. And little is known about how they fare after placement, so center staff will spend a lot of time following up on animals.

There are 27 kennels, an office, real life rooms, treatment rooms and common areas at the center.

The average stay for most dogs will be six to eight weeks, "but we don't have a hard and fast rule. All dogs are individuals. We will be flexible," Collins said.

A team of 10 people, including two behavior experts from St. Hubert's, will staff the center. Volunteers and daily caretakers will feed the dogs and clean kennels.

Graduating dogs will return to a shelter for placement and ASPCA shelter partners will continue working with the dogs if needed, Collins said.

St. Hubert's is a longtime disaster partner of the ASPCA and jumped at the chance to be involved, said President and CEO Heather Cammisa.

Fear and anxiety are major factors that can hinder a dog's quality of life, she said.

"If they are hiding in the back of the cage and they are fearful, No. 1, they don't have a good quality of life and, No. 2, they are not going to be selected for adoption and when they go home, they are not really prepared to be the family pet that adopters seek, so this is just a win-all-around," she said.

The ASPCA spent over half a million dollars on the building, Cammisa said, and will pay all other expenses, including vaccinations, spaying or neutering, treatments and other care.

Weather permitting, the first few dogs will arrive in the next day or two from the Pacific Northwest, Collins said.

They will be the last of 213 Alaskan malamutes seized from a Montana breeder who was convicted in December 2012 of 91 counts of animal cruelty. After being starved and living in filth at the breeding facility, the dogs then had to be kept in kennels as evidence for 16 months while the trial played out.

Malamutes are 75-pound dogs. "Eighteen of the dogs were pregnant. One pregnant dog only weighed 48 pounds and had eight pups. Only one survived," said Bob Sutherland of Anchorage, president of the Alaska Malamute Assistance League.

The dogs were released to a humane society in Helena, Mont., where they were spayed and neutered, and another group helped place the animals.

While some dogs are in malamute rescues waiting for the right owner, many have found forever homes. Sutherland and his wife, Nicole McCullough, adopted one.

When the dogs were in evidence custody, Sutherland would visit to help out once a month. Cinder, a 6-year-old female, became his special project.

She is missing the tip of her ear, has broken teeth and a broken toe, injuries Sutherland said were caused when what little food was given to the dogs was thrown over a fence, causing food fights. Many of the dogs are even missing their tongues, he said.

Cinder has come a long way. "We took a shy dog, and she's all grins and giggles now. If you work with these dogs, they rise and shine. That's why this ASPCA facility is so valuable to us. We were super excited to get these dogs in there to go through a training regimen. It saves us a lot of heartbreak about what we do with these dogs," Sutherland said.

There will be those dogs that cannot overcome the fear, Collins said. But behaviorists will do everything possible and consider euthanasia as a last resort only if the dogs are suffering from an extremely poor quality of life or if they pose a significant threat to the public, she said.

The center will only be able to handle about 400 dogs during the project's two scheduled years, so it won't take an immediate burden off shelters, Collins said, but if researchers can come up with new ways to ease fear, anxiety and shyness in abused dogs, it could have a widespread impact.

And success could mean another phase in the study, to include fighting dogs, or even cats, Collins said.

___

Online:

? http://www.sthuberts.org

? http://www.malamuterescue.org

? http://www.aspca.org

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-12-Pets-Dog%20Rehab/id-75cba085536c4b7ba5a962efcded2796

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Six teens killed in Ohio crash

By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News

Six Ohio teenagers died and two more were injured on Sunday after the car they were traveling in hit a guardrail, went airborne and landed in a pond, according to authorities.

The single-car accident occurred when a sport utility vehicle carrying eight people in Warren, Ohio veered to the left, hit a guardrail and flew out of control, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol. ?

Killed in the crash were 19-year-old Alexis Cayson, 14-year-old Andrique Bennett, 17-year-old Brandon Murray, and Kirklan Behner, Daylan Ray, and Ramone White, all 15-years-old, according to NBC Cleveland affiliate WKYC.

All the victims were from Warren, Ohio, about 60 miles east of Cleveland.

Brian Henry, 18, and Asher Lewis, 15, survived and were taken to a local hospital. There was no information immediately on their condition, but state police plan to address the media on Sunday night.

Authorities say the Honda Passport was traveling more than 70 mph when the driver hit the guard rail.

The crash occurred just before 7 a.m. EST. Along with state police, the dive team and Ohio State Troopers Crash Reconstruction team responded at the scene.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/10/17259173-six-teens-killed-in-ohio-crash?lite

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Gay GOP activist considers primary against Sen. Lindsey Graham (Washington Post)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/290660030?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Curated Food Delivery Service Caviar Opens To The Public And Launches Group Ordering

Last September, we told you about Caviar, a food delivery service that works directly with awesome restaurants in San Francisco to have their food delivered for a flat fee of $9.99 in less than an hour. That service has now exited its invite-only beta period, and also just launched a group-ordering feature that will allow users to quickly and easily share their shopping cart with others.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/o7t47wrslBQ/

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NY Based Firm Launches Custom Online Marketing Solutions ...

In today?s technological business structure, online marketing is the most sought after viral propositions businesses look forward to enhance their competitive positions. To help online entrepreneurs adopt the right online marketing strategies to successfully impact their business, Asahi Technologies launches customized online marketing solutions at affordable cost in New York.

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 09, 2013

The dominating presence of web and its influence over consumers has led online retailers to devise appropriate strategies to strategically position themselves in the competition. Companies ought to choose online marketing solutions wisely by taking into account their customer demographics, budget and other considerations. There are several techniques available to market a business online. However, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an excellent tool to augment customer base and sales revenues. The benefits associated with this online strategy are definitely worth the time and expense. Nevertheless, every business organization should thoroughly evaluate to determine which online marketing strategies are the best match. Also, it is highly crucial for firms to choose the right people to work out their online marketing plans. And to help internet marketers with bespoke online marketing features and offerings, the NY based firm has launched professional online marketing services in New York.

SEO is the process by which a site achieves a higher rank for a given keyword, on popular search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing. SEO friendly web design & development enables a website for optimal search engine ranking. SEO techniques that were proven effective for improving brand visibility ensure the readiness of websites for future SEO and internet marketing campaigns. However, SEO does have its share of complexities. At Asahi Technologies, the SEO team evaluates and analyzes websites for search engine optimization, including everything from keyword research, generation, on-page optimization, off-page optimization, social media optimization and search engine reputation management (SERM). Providing viable online marketing solutions for any business type and size, the NY based firm offers a spectrum of distinctive solutions of online marketing that are customized for diverse industries. Unlike SEM, SEO targets searches like image, video, local and academic searches.

Using specific social media tactics that are most effective in marketing a business online, the company helps to create and effectively maintain social media campaigns. The efficient SERM team helps marketers to reduce the impact of negative views by monitoring and moving them from initial pages of search engine results. ?Our competitively priced SEO solutions help companies to make it big in the online space, while simultaneously letting them to focus on their core business objectives?, stated MR. Vinod Subbaiah, the CEO and Founder of Asahi Technologies.

To help businesses know more about custom online marketing services, Asahi Technologies provides a free online consultation to clients letting them understand their development options.

About Asahi Technologies

Asahi Technologies is a New York based web design and development firm that provides software consulting and Web solutions to small and medium level businesses all across North America. Asahi Technologies specializes in responsive design, cloud computing, online marketing, mobile application development and open source technologies. Under the leadership of Mr. Vinod Subbaiah, who himself started his career as a software programmer, Asahi Technologies? team comprises of experienced software professionals having extensive knowledge of technology with B2C and B2B operations. The firm?s headquarters is located in New York City, NY.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2013/3/prweb10514788.htm

Source: http://pressreleases.bloginteract.com/2013/03/ny-based-firm-launches-custom-online-marketing-solutions-focused-on-smes-to-enhance-their-online-visibility-in-new-york/

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