as random as Ek Do 3

Being Indian myself, I can proudly say that Indians are generally more frugal than others. We want to make sure that we are getting the best deal on anything we purchase, and will go to certain lengths to ensure that we do. At the end of the day, if we are buying something, it just makes sense to ensure that we are not spending too much or more importantly, more than our neighbors are.

The idea of Price comparison shopping is not a new one. It has been around for over a decade with some of the large players worth half a billion + $US dollars (LINK). Sites such as Pricegrabber, Shopzilla, Nextag, Smarter, Pronto, Bizrate, Shopping have been extremely successful in the US, UK and other countries with a high IPR (internet penetration rate).

Sure with a population of ~ 1B, one would assume that online shopping in India is also booming, however this is not the case. It has to do with a combination of factors, starting with Indians distrust in Credit Cards and their unwillingness to share that information over the net. Sure the wariness factor is trending towards a more positive outlook as we see the younger demographic getting more accustomed to the net and showing positive signs of

Combine the above factor with the very low IPR rate that India claims (~ 7%), along with the Indian values of not carrying debt by trying to pay off everything, online shopping in India displays its challenges. Although the IPR rate is pretty low, it still turns out to be a nice chunk of the earths population to market to (~ 81B people). Point to be noted, out of the ~ 81 B Internet Users in India, only ~ 3B (less than 4%) have Broadband connection.

There are a few online companies bringing awareness about the Price comparison shopping concept to the Indian Internet population, some of which are CompareIndia.com, Naaptol, Compare the Bazaar, Shopmania, Bechna.

Some of the more reputable storefronts to buy your goods online in India are CafeGadgets.in, StoreJi.com, SmartShoppers.in, TechShop.in, Letsbuy.com, StoreCoin.com, IndiaVarta.com, India-Haat.com, India Times Shopping, Rediff Shopping

As internet pricing decreases and IPR rates improve in India, its just a matter of time before Indians start using comparison shopping engines as their initial search for purchasing their next item online. Its a huge market that is just begging to roll…

For a list of all Indian Shopping sites and portals visit www.keemat.com - indian advertising network.

So Steve Jobs announced the arrival of the new iphone available for shipping June 24 (pre-orders begin June 15) available to US, France, Germany, UK and Japan. The iphone 4 will be available in India and other developed countries towards the end of Sept. There are over a 100 new features on the iphone according to Steve. Here are some of the highlights from the keynote address today:

Just when you thought the phone couldn’t get any skinnier, the iphone 4 will sport a whole new design being only 9.3 MM thin - thats 24% thinner than the iphone 3GS. The screen on phone is 3.5 inches and offers 960×640 pixel resolution. It’s a much sharper display that will show 4 times the amount of pixels in the same amount of space as earlier iphones.

As previous phones the antennas are built into case and support all frequencies: GSM, Bluetooth, 3G, Wifi and GPS

Besides having the traditional camera on backside that shoots 5megapixel images 720p HD video at 30 frames per second, now there is one on the front making video conferencing a reality which brings me to the next feature - FaceTime. Live Video over your phone, as long as both users have iphone 4 and are connected via WiFi. iMovie is available as an app to edit movies and recordings.

The phone has a much improved batter life span which includes 7 hours of talk time and 6 hours of web browsing over 3G networks. The phone offers over 10 hours of browsing, watching video and 40 hours of listending to music via a WiFi Network. The 300 hours of stand by time is standard.

In the US a 2 year ATT contract for the 16 GB is $199. The 32 GB will set you back $299. Pricing for international plans released shortly.

Buy.com was acquired for US$250 million cash by Global online Retailer Rakuten, who also runs Japans largest shopping mall with over 50 million products and more than 33,000 merchants.

In these trying times, the deal sounds like a sweet one for Rakuten. At one time Buy.com was valued well over 600M so this is definitely a bargain for the Japanese Giant. Sure it seems like a win win for both companies but not for affiliate network CJ. How does CJ play into the mix?

As you may know Rakuten acquired Linkshare (LS) affiliate network a few years ago and now with the acquisition its just a matter of time before CJ looses one of its major players in its network to LS - Buy.com. Rakuten is going to be a major player in this space and I see them taking this to the next level and acquiring a price comparison engine to complete the trifecta. They will then own the network (tracking), the comparison engine (marketing tool), and the merchant (buy.com) which will make Rakuten a force to reckon with.

LBJ came out in game 6 of the NBA season looking as anxious to get the game over, as a high school kids final day in class just waiting for 3pm to come around!! I mean seriously …. you just played a whole NBA season being unstoppable, a force to reckon with, a maestro…. a KING! How do you give up all that sacrifice and ‘punk out’ in Game 4, 5 and 6??? Ok, I know ur elbow hurts…but you’re not using that as an excuse - then WTF is it? What happened in Game 4 - did you think that its not worth beating Boston, since Orlando is next and you didn’t have a chance? Or in case you did make it pass the Magic, the matchup with LA would have been overwhelming???

How do you go from being so DOMINANT to just … being?

LeBron - You’ve let your team down, your city down, your fans down - and yes I have been a WITNESS!

Apple is set to release the iPad to the international market soon (May 28). Here are some preliminary pricing gathered through various sources on the net.

Australia
iPad Wi-Fi – 16GB: A$ 629
iPad Wi-Fi – 32GB: A$ 759
iPad Wi-Fi – 64GB: A$ 879

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 16GB: A$ 799
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 32GB: A$ 928
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 64GB: A$ 1,049

Canada
iPad Wi-Fi – 16GB: $549
iPad Wi-Fi – 32GB: $649
iPad Wi-Fi – 64GB: $749

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 16GB: $679
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 32GB: $779
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 64GB: $879

UK
iPad Wi-Fi – 16GB: £429
iPad Wi-Fi – 32GB: £499
iPad Wi-Fi – 64GB: £599

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 16GB: £529
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 32GB: £599
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 64GB: £699

France
iPad Wi-Fi – 16GB: 499 €
iPad Wi-Fi – 32GB: 599 €
iPad Wi-Fi – 64GB: 699 €

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 16GB: 599 €
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 32GB: 699 €
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 64GB: 799 €

Germany
iPad Wi-Fi – 16GB: 499 €
iPad Wi-Fi – 32GB: 599 €
iPad Wi-Fi – 64GB: 714 €

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 16GB: 599 €
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 32GB: 699 €
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 64GB: 814 €

India
iPad Wi-Fi – 16GB: Rs. 30,000
iPad Wi-Fi – 32GB: Rs. 35,000
iPad Wi-Fi – 64GB: Rs. 41,000

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 16GB: Rs. 35,000
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 32GB: Rs. 41,000
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 64GB: Rs. 46,500

Italy
iPad Wi-Fi – 16GB: 499 €
iPad Wi-Fi – 32GB: 599 €
iPad Wi-Fi – 64GB: 699 €

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 16GB: 599 €
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 32GB: 699 €
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 64GB: 799 €

Switzerland
iPad Wi-Fi – 16GB: CHF 649
iPad Wi-Fi – 32GB: CHF 779
iPad Wi-Fi – 64GB: CHF 899

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 16GB: CHF 799
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 32GB: CHF 929
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 64GB: CHF 1,049

Spain
iPad Wi-Fi – 16GB: 479 €
iPad Wi-Fi – 32GB: 579 €
iPad Wi-Fi – 64GB: 679 €

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 16GB: 579 €
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 32GB: 679 €
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 64GB: 779 €

Japan
iPad Wi-Fi – 16GB: ?48,800
iPad Wi-Fi – 32GB: ?58,800
iPad Wi-Fi – 64GB: ?68,800

iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 16GB: ?61,800
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 32GB: ?71,800
iPad Wi-Fi + 3G – 64GB: ?81,800

If you are in any of these countries - please let us know what you think about the pricing. join us on dekho.

Recently had one of my websites that was once listed in the top 25K sites in the world according to Alexa, dropped from the natural listings of Google altogether.  The site was receiving well over 1.5 M monthly page views, had a sitemap in Google search results and was well indexed in Google, until I noticed a dramatic decrease in new visitors a few days ago, and found the culprit being no more links indexed in the Google natural search results, and the site pretty much removed from existence.  Imagine the horror, after 7 months spent day and night, you pour your heart and soul on a project, just to find that Google has removed your site from their index!!!

This is exactly what I felt like……

What makes the matter worse, is that I am not even sure why it was removed?  I have contacted Google on a number of occasions, but Google being…..”Google” has not responded or even acknowledged receipt of email.  At least if they respond, I would know what was done wrong, so that I can fix the error and not do it again.  I have tried to contact them through their Webmaster Tools and same thing - no response.

The site is an niche online movie aggregator that gathers videos from different sources, embeds those files and displays them in a nice, neat and orderly fashion.  There are numerous online movie aggregators doing exactly what I am doing and even taking it to the next level, where they are hosting some movies directly.   These sites are nicely indexed with Google and have very deep natural links additionally have also been approved for Adsense and I also see them advertising on Adwords, so I have no idea why Google would take offense and remove my website from their natural listings, no warning….nothing.  POOF!

So I decide to take another route by using their Adwords solution and spend money to get Google visitors and here is the exact response I receive from Google after being denied for my first submission:

================

At this time, Google policy does not permit the advertisement of websites (including services or products therein) that violate or encourage violation of any applicable laws. In this case, your advertisement directs users to a website that either contains (or claims to contain) copyrighted TV shows, movies, or music that cannot be distributed freely online, or your website promotes the availability of such material without the consent of the copyright holder.

================

The part in their response that makes absolutely no sense and shows Google’s double standards is that according to them, the ‘advertisement directs users to a website that contains copyrighted TV shows, movies or music’  in other words….YouTube and Google Videos, BOTH of which are owned and operated by Google.  So if I am directing users to something inappropriate, according to them, then Google should remove those videos from their own properties.  They have basically admitted that there is something inherently wrong with sites that contain copyrighted TV shows, movies or music, which is at the heart, essence and core of their two largest portals - YouTube and Google Videos.  They, themselves are hosting these videos and are refusing my advertisement because I have links to their websites. This is the height of double standards, and needs to be addressed.

All is not lost however, as Yahoo still has the site nicely indexed in their natural listings and is sending a steady stream of new visitors and users.  Although a fraction of the traffic that Google sends, I definitely am glad that Yahoo has separate algorithms in place when it comes to natural search.   With Google taking such a dramatic step by removing my listings, I have learned a major lesson, that Google is not necessarily the solution when it comes to search.  I need more…. I need Yahoo, Live, Ask and more. Previous searches on Google that resulted in my site coming up on the first page no longer show my site in the first 50 (i stopped looking after 50 pages).  This leads me to believe that the selection process and algorithms Google has in place may not necessarily be giving us the full spectrum of results as we have always imagined.

Well, it finally happened. Saw it coming the moment I purchased the phone and declined the insurance option. My Iphone is Igone. Here’s the story.

Last Friday I dropped off my car at the dealership for service, and proceeded to transfer things from out of my car to the loaner vehicle I was to have for the weekend. I checked and double checked to make sure I moved all the important things over into the loaner, such as the car seat, garage door opener, charger, etc…. Got home on Friday evening and discovered that my company Iphone is missing.

I began retracing my steps to earlier in the day, and realized that it must have been in the glove compartment of my vehicle. Immediately contacted the dealership and they were closed for the evening. So first thing Saturday morning, I contact the dealership asking them to look in the vehicle for me. The lady says that she will get back to me shortly.

Since it was the weekend, we had to attend my nephews Birthday party in the valley and we began our 2 hour drive there. On our way there, I received a call from the dealership saying that they have located my phone. I was extremely thankful to the receptionist and told her that I would pick up my phone later in the day when I was getting back from our mini-journey. As 5 o’clock approached, I made it to the dealership and made my way to the reception area. Inquired about my phone, and was told that my phone is now missing. WTF - was my immediate reaction. I asked the receptionist to explain herself, and she said that the phone was put in the drawer and has vanished since (someone had taken my iphone). She said she was extremely sorry for something like this happening and that the manager would get back to me on Monday.

Monday morning rolls around, and I am waiting for the call….but nothing. So, I contact the dealership and speak with the manager in charge. He was unaware of the problem, so I explained exactly what had occurred at his dealership, and as a customer I am not likely to ever purchase anything from them again. He also was very apologetic for the unfortunate incident that occurred and assured me that they would pay all costs associated with the phone. - which they did.

So I go the ATT store to purchase a new Iphone. I mentioned to them that I have lost my phone and asked them what the best thing to do. They said that once I plug in my new iphone and sync it up with itunes, the old phone will no longer be active. So I get home and put my phone in the doc and sync it up. To my amazement, everything is transferred to my new iphone within a few clicks, a very easy setup. Props to apple for simplifying things in regards to such situations. Its as if I never lost my phone in the first place, as everything is the same as before, even my call history. My only concern is that my old phone is still out there with someone and no matter how much ATT convinces me that it is no longer active, I still have the uneasy feeling that my photos, contacts, emails, etc… are still accessible.

Khushboo

Haal e Dil

De Taali

Mere Baap Pehle Aap

Don Muthuswami

Aamir

Sarkar Raj

Pranali

Hastey Hastey

Dhoom Dhadaka

Jannat

Anamika

Sirf

Bhootnath

Tashan

Mr White Mr Black

U me aur hum

Krazzy 4

Bhram

Shaurya

more…..

How could this blog not provide a link to the movie One Two Three. Watch the Hindi movie One Two Three starring Suniel Shetty, Tusshar Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Upen Patel, Esha Deol, Sameera Reddy:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Enjoy!

Watch the Bollywood Movie Black & White starring Anil Kapoor, Aditi Sharma, Habib Tanvir, Shefali Shah, Anurag Sinha:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Enjoy!