  Verizon launched on the weekend its much anticipated bundle offer with Research in Motion's (RIM) BlackBerry Storm to take on the might of AT&T and iPhone 3G.
While the launch of Apple's iPhone 3G was relatively a much larger event mainly due to the global launch with thousands queuing up to get a hand on the model, Verizon witnessed comparatively lower numbers but still the hundreds outnumbered the units available on offer on day one.
Verizon said that it ran out of stock in most of the places and is now taking orders from subscribers guaranting them a quick shipment as soon as possible; reportedly within 5-6 days at some places.
At a particular place in Manhattan, queued up subscribers lost their cool when it was informed that the shop had run out of the handsets.
It is too early to conclude on the success of BlackBerry Storm in USA. But it has certainly provided Verizon a ray of hope especially after the service provider lost significant number of subscribers to rival AT&T's network after iPhone 3G was introduced.
Verizon has priced the Storm at the same price as that offered by AT&T for iPhone 3G i.e. at $ 199 for a two year contract. |
Monday, 24 November 2008
Competition to iPhone? Verizon claims hundreds queue up to order BlackBerry Storm
Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 Phone entered the indian market
XPERIA X1 by Sony Ericsson has hit the Indian market. The company introduced the XPERIA X1 mobile in India.
XPERIA X1 offers a combined experience of multimedia entertainment and mobile Web communication. The phone has the capability to work as a camcorder. XPERIA X1 is available in selected markets across India.
Xperia X1 phone has touchscreen interface, high-speed HSDPA/HSUPA, A-GPS and Wi-Fi. It alsosports an expandable memory, voice dialing and multi tasking ability and a 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera with photo light feature for bright pictures.
The other features of mobile phone are full QWERTY keyboard, a 3-inch clear wide VGA display, 4-way key and optical joystick navigation along with Windows Mobile platform. Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 also comes bundled with FM radio, support for multiple media players and PlayNow feature to access a wide range of music library to download songs.
XPERIA X1 is available at the cost price of Rs. 44,500.
http://www.freshnews.in/sony-ericsson-xperia-x1-phone-entered-the-indian-market-99610On-screen depiction of smoking harms public: Centre
"A large number of people get affected by observing what their stars do on screen in films or advertisements. People start imitating them. People would be encouraged for smoking if they see film stars or sports person doing the same in a film or advertisement," Additional Solicitor General P P Malhotra and Advocate Mukul Gupta said.
"There have been many instances where people particularly youth and children have tried to imitate what they see on the screen. In some cases people have jumped from high buildings trying to imitate what they saw in a film. So will be the case if on-screen smoking is allowed," the government said.
The Centre's submission came before Justice S K Kaul, who is hearing the matter as an umpire judge after a split verdict was given by a division bench on filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt's petition challenging the government notification banning smoking scenes in films and television programmes.
A division bench of Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Sanjiv Khanna had, on February 7, had given a split verdict after disagreement on the issue.
The two had different opinions on the constitutional validity of a provision in the Cigarettes and other Tobacco products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act 2003 which bans smoking on screen. PTI
http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/8BC6CAF1D40A674165257508004BE694?OpenDocument
Screen ban on smoking must, govt tells HC
"People get affected by what their stars do on screen in films or ads…. They would be encouraged to smoke if they see filmstars or sportspersons doing the same in a film or ad," the government yesterday told Delhi High Court.
"There have been many instances where people, particularly youths and children, have tried to imitate what they see on screen. In some cases, people have jumped from high buildings."
A three-judge bench is rehearing a plea, from filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and others, to squash the ban after an earlier two-judge bench arrived at a tie.
One of the two judges, Justice Mukul Mudgal, had said a blanket ban violated Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution that safeguards freedom of expression. Such a ban would proscribe the portrayal of an act that happens in real life, curbing artistic expression and creative freedom.
He cited the TV serials on the Mahabharat and the Ramayan which showed gambling, kidnapping and deceit, and said such depictions cannot be banned to promote a morally idealistic society.
"Imagine a movie where all is well and every character is moral and obeys the laws and is happy and content. Such a script, apart from being very boring, also necessarily has to be very short," he had said. But his fellow judge did not agree and the case was referred to the larger bench.
The ban, notified on May 31, 2004, was to take effect from August 2005 but was twice stalled amid protests from the information and broadcasting ministry and the film industry. It eventually took effect on January 1, 2006.
Bhatt had challenged the ban on the ground that it violated freedom of expression, and also argued that it applied only to advertisements and not to movies or any other creative form of expression.
He claimed the ban was in direct conflict with the Cinematography Act of 1952. The notification asked distributors and TV channels to blur smoking scenes, banned such scenes in new films and required old movies to run a scroll warning that smoking was injurious to health. The ban extended to foreign films.
However, under pressure from the I&B ministry, the health ministry reluctantly agreed not to insist on a complete ban on historical characters lighting up, and in cases where it was necessary to depict the ill effects of smoking and in live programming.
Kangana Ranaut on Seventeen cover
Kangana Ranaut, star of the Madhur Bhandarkar pic, Fashion, has come into the spotlight, featuring on the cover of fashion magazine Seventeen.
With her electrifying performance in Fashion, Kangana has established herself as a favorite with Fashion Magazines and Fashion shows.
She appears on Seventeen is a pretty pink dress and cascading locks, a la Rapunzel.
With this project, she seems to have outrun co-stars Priyanka Chopra and Mugdha Godse in the popularity charts.
Kangana also seems to be following the path of ravishing Bollywood queen Katrina Kaif who has been the darling of fashion Magazines till recently.
http://www.newsline365.com/20083358/kangana-ranaut-on-seventeen-cover/No new episodes as TV workers' strike continues
Mumbai: Television audiences will have to make do with re-runs of old soaps for some more time as technical workers unhappy with a deal signed on Wednesday to address their demand for higher wages, decided on Friday to scrap the agreement. No shooting was held for fresh episodes on Friday as workers did not turn up.
Members of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), the workers' apex body, conveyed their unhappiness over the November 19 agreement when they met among themselves Friday evening.
The federation office-bearers then sat for an emergency meeting to discuss the fallout of the decision taken by their unhappy affiliates.
The federation decided to scrap the agreement and revert to the one it had signed with the core committee of television programme producers in October, though producers had earlier backtracked from it leading to an impasse in the industry.
The FWICE is, however, yet to convey its decision taken at Friday's meeting to the producers' committee, but is hopeful that the producers would finally be amenable to it.
"I am sure producers who are after all our colleagues in the industry would understand our constraints when we sit with them to discuss the new development that have surfaced," federation general secretary, Dinesh Chaturvedi, told IANS after the meeting.
He, however, refused to elaborate.
But it is clear that by deciding to scrap the November 19 agreement, the federation has given in to the demands of the sound recordists, dressmen and make-up artists - the three categories of professions who in particular were unhappy with the new rates of monthly salary fixed for them and were demanding a further hike.
In view of the stand producers had taken earlier, it can be expected that the impasse in the television industry will continue for long. Until it is resolved, the indirect loser will be the viewers.
Earlier Friday, some associations of technicians failed to report for work though producers said that they would resume shooting for their on-going serials.
On Wednesday, the FWICE and the core committee of the television programme producers had signed an agreement over wages and workers were to resume shooting from Thursday.
But soon after the agreement was signed, some associations of technicians complained to FWICE that they were unhappy with the new wages fixed for them.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/no-new-episodes-as-tv-workers-strike-continues/78732-8.html
No new episodes as TV workers' strike continues
Television audiences will have to make do with re-runs of old soaps for some more time as technical workers unhappy with a deal signed on Wednesday to address their demand for higher wages, decided on Friday to scrap the agreement. No shooting was held for fresh episodes on Friday as workers did not turn up.
Members of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), the workers' apex body, conveyed their unhappiness over the November 19 agreement when they met among themselves Friday evening.
The federation office-bearers then sat for an emergency meeting to discuss the fallout of the decision taken by their unhappy affiliates.
The federation decided to scrap the agreement and revert to the one it had signed with the core committee of television programme producers in October, though producers had earlier backtracked from it leading to an impasse in the industry.
The FWICE is, however, yet to convey its decision taken at Friday's meeting to the producers' committee, but is hopeful that the producers would finally be amenable to it.
"I am sure producers who are after all our colleagues in the industry would understand our constraints when we sit with them to discuss the new development that have surfaced," federation general secretary, Dinesh Chaturvedi, told IANS after the meeting.
He, however, refused to elaborate.
But it is clear that by deciding to scrap the November 19 agreement, the federation has given in to the demands of the sound recordists, dressmen and make-up artists - the three categories of professions who in particular were unhappy with the new rates of monthly salary fixed for them and were demanding a further hike.
In view of the stand producers had taken earlier, it can be expected that the impasse in the television industry will continue for long. Until it is resolved, the indirect loser will be the viewers.
Earlier Friday, some associations of technicians failed to report for work though producers said that they would resume shooting for their on-going serials.
On Wednesday, the FWICE and the core committee of the television programme producers had signed an agreement over wages and workers were to resume shooting from Thursday.
