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 shopping online.

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 (~ 81M people). Point to be noted, out of the ~ 81 M Internet Users in India, only ~ 3M (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.

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:

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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.

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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.

When speaking of Web 2.0, there are a few common phrases thrown that are discussed…collaboration, communities, Peer to Peer, Blogs, Social Networking, Wikis, XML, API’s….the list goes on. One of the key features of having your website 2.0 compliant would include being able to manipulate information from databases and display and present it in a multitude of fashions on your website. As an example if you can create individual tables for relative fields pertaining to your business, that information can be proven invaluable in creating a Web 2.0 atmosphere in your website. This especially applies to websites with large number of products. So for instance, if you are creating a Perfume Website, some of the filters that can be created are:

• Gender
• Box Size
• Price
• Brand

So for Gender the attributes would be ‘Male or Female’. Box Size could have attributes of S, M, L, XL. Price could display options such as 1-50, 51-100, 101-151, 151-200, 200+. Finally for Brand, you could list out all Perfume Brands.

When putting together your website, these fields that are in your mySQL files can be used as Filtering Options on your website, and can provide an amazing shopping experience for your users. They will be able to narrow down their choice by using these filtering options that are present in your tables if arranged and displayed in a neat and orderly fashion. A user could choose a Medium box of Ralph Lauren perfume for females in the 100 price range; run a query and presto - your results.

Your website can adapt and transform itself almost instantaneously and with hardly any cost, just by spending a little time managing your data base which will lay the foundation to gain entry into a whole new world - a web 2.0 world!

One of the recent iphone shortcuts I learned about is in regards to deleting an email from your mail folder.  While viewing your list of emails, you can just glide your finger very gently from left to right on the email you want to delete and a ‘DELETE’ button pops up.

Very useful to get rid of the junk in your trunk.

The #1 reason for cellular phone dissatisfaction is ‘coverage’ or ‘reception’. In order to overcome this issue, there is a new gadget on the maket called a Femtocell. You’re probably wondering what the heck a ‘femtocell’ is. Well, the Femtocell looks like a box (about the size of a router) that you connect to your broadband router; it essentially gives you your very own cell phone tower, right in your home. So instead of searching for a cell tower to connect to, the femtocell base station picks up the mobile phone signal and sends it out via the Internet via your broadband connection. This will definitely help out some of the smaller networks with fewer cell towers, as they will be able to compete with the big boys at a fraction of the cost.

The Femtocell picked up alot of buzz during CES 2008. The word “femto” means “one-quadrillionth the size of a given unit.”