Saturday, March 29, 2014
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Google Unveils Software for Smartwatches-to-Be
Google Unveils Software for Smartwatches-to-Be
By BRIAN X. CHEN
Google is taking its fight with Apple to the wristwatch.
The search giant on Tuesday unveiled Android
Wear, a version of Google’s Android operating system software that is
tailored specifically for wearable computers, starting with so-called
smartwatches.
Adjusting Android — a breakaway hit as an
operating system for smartphones — to work with wearable computers is a
pre-emptive move for Google, which entered the smartphone and tablet
markets after Apple. This time, it should have a first claim on
developing relationships with the many software partners — the apps
builders — that help a gadget become popular.
Just as important, consumers should expect to
see Android-powered smartwatches before Apple can get into the mix.
Apple has been developing a watch for some time, according to people
briefed on the project, but it is not clear when it will be released.
“They’re trying to get in front of whatever
Apple is going to do,” said Tero Kuittinen, a telecom analyst for the
mobile diagnostics firm Alekstra.
For several years, Google and Apple have been
waging what analysts call a war of ecosystems: apps, content and
services used to lure customers and keep them loyal. The better the apps
and content, the more appealing their devices get.
Apple’s strategy has been to build gadgets
based on its own software and then allow outside developers to make apps
for a huge audience of iPhone and iPad customers. Google’s approach has
been to team up with manufacturers that build devices around
Google-made software, which the other companies install free. In the
process, the potential market for products based on the Google software
is widened.
Google’s Android is by far the most popular operating system for smartphones, but developers of some of the biggest apps, like Instagram, still tend to build for Apple’s iOS first and Android second.
Developers have said they work on iOS first
because it is easier to develop an app for Apple devices than it is to
make apps for the many kinds of Android devices on the market. Android
phone manufacturers use the same basic software, but many of them have
made small changes that can make app developers’ work more difficult.
Google is clearly trying to change that for wearable computers by making its software public before the market takes off.
“It’s important that Google is getting its
ducks in a row to be able to offer a new outlet for Android developers,
and it’s something that Apple will want to do when it launches into the
wearables space, too,” said Jan Dawson, an independent telecom analyst
for Jackdaw Research.
That is, if Apple does indeed produce what
some have named the iWatch. While numerous sources as well as tech news
outlets have reported that Apple is working on a smartwatch, the company
has never stated that it has one in development or said when it would
be released.
But if — or when — it does release such a
product, it will be entering what some believe is the next big market
for tech gadgets. Though wearable computers have yet to gain traction
among mainstream consumers, they are expected to become popular in
coming years. Companies like Samsung Electronics, Sony and Pebble are already making smartwatches. The research firm Gartner estimates that wearable devices, including shoes, tattoos and accessories, will be a $10 billion market by 2016.
One of the first smartwatches running the
Google software will be the LG G Watch from LG Electronics, the South
Korean electronics maker. Another, the Moto 360, will come from Motorola
Mobility, the handset maker that Google recently agreed to sell to
Lenovo. Google said it was also working on watches with Asus, HTC and
Samsung.
Google collaborated closely with LG on the
design and the engineering of the G Watch, according to Jong-seok Park,
chief executive of LG’s mobile communications division. LG said that
after users say to its watch, “O.K. Google,” followed by a voice
command, the screen will present relevant information. That is similar
to the voice-controlled system used for navigating Google Glass, the
Internet-connected monocle, and Moto X, the smartphone that Motorola
developed for Google.
The new Android software for wearable gadgets
was opened to app developers on Tuesday. More information will most
likely be shared in June at Google I/O, the company’s annual conference
for software developers.
Google would not comment on whether
manufacturers would have to pay a licensing fee to use Android Wear.
Christopher Katsaros, a Google spokesman, said more details would be
announced in the coming months.
It was unclear whether Google would
eventually make its own watch. But the company has shown a strong
interest in hardware, despite a spotty track record. Google Glass, which
has been an object of envy among some gadget enthusiasts and the
subject of derision among others, is not yet in wide production. And the
more successful Google-branded Android devices weren’t made by Google
itself, but by partners like Samsung Electronics and LG.
Google’s biggest splash in hardware came in
2012, when it bought Motorola Mobility, the handset maker, for more than
$12 billion. But in January, after sales of Moto X, Google’s first
flagship smartphone, were disappointing, Google said it would sell
Motorola to Lenovo, the Chinese company, for about $3 billion.
Weeks before Google announced that sale, it
said it would buy Nest, a hardware company that makes Internet-connected
thermostats, for $3.2 billion.
By relying on other hardware makers to make a
smartwatch, one thing beyond Google’s control is the physical design.
That could be an issue, since some people complain that smartwatches are
ugly.
“They’re just not that attractive,” said Mr. Dawson, the telecom analyst. “And they are all clunky, square and large.”
STOCK OPTIONS : NSE INDIA : ACCURATE TIPS IN INDIA
| MARCH STOCKOPTIONS - RAJKAMALSTOCKOPTIONS | ||||||
| STOCK | DATE | STRIKE | ENTRY | SL | CLOSED CALL | P/L-2LOTS |
| LICHSG | 3/3/2014 | 215 CALL | 6.25 | 5.5 | 5.5 | -3000.00 |
| ADANIENT | 3/3/2014 | 270 CALL | 6.7 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 8000.00 |
| AXISBANK | 3-Mar | 1200 PUT | 22 | 10 | PENDING | |
| COALINDIA | 3/3/2014 | 250 CALL | 5 | 6.5 | 3000.00 | |
| IDFC | 4/3/2014 | 100 CALL | 3.5 | 4.5 | 8000.00 | |
| SSLT | 4/3/2014 | 185 CALL | 4.3 | 4.8 | 2000.00 | |
| CAIRN | 5/3/2014 | 340 CALL | 2.5 | BTST | 1.5 | -2000.00 |
| SBIN | 5/3/2014 | 1550 CALL | 34 | BTST | 50 | 4000.00 |
| TATAMOTORS | 14/3/2014 | 390 CALL | 10 | 12 | 4000.00 | |
| RCOM | 19/3/2014 | 140 CALL | 0.25 | 0.5 | 1000.00 | |
| 25000.00 | ||||||
NIFTY OPTIONS : DAILY PERFORMANCE REPORT
NIFTY OPTIONS : STOCK OPTIONS : BANK NIFTY OPTIONS : ACCURATE TIPS
| MARCH NIFTY OPTIONS - RAJKAMALSTOCKOPTIONS | |||||
| NIFTY OPTION | DATE | ENTRY | SL | CLOSE CALL | P / L - 5 LOTS |
| NIFTY 6300 CALL | 4/3/2014 | 74 | 100 | 6500.00 | |
| NIFTY 6500 CALL | 18/3/2014 | 85 | 100 | 3750.00 | |
| NIFTY 6500 CALL | 19/3/2014 | 75 | 90 | 3750.00 | |
| 14000.00 | |||||
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
NIFTY PERFORMANCE DAILY REPORT : ACCURATE TIPS IN NIFTY FUTURES, NIFTY OPTIONS : BANK NIFTY OPTIONS
| MARCH NIFTY OPTIONS - RAJKAMALSTOCKOPTIONS | |||||
| NIFTY OPTION | DATE | ENTRY | SL | CLOSE CALL | P / L - 5 LOTS |
| NIFTY 6300 CALL | 4/3/2014 | 74 | 100 | 6500.00 | |
| NIFTY 6500 CALL | 18/3/2014 | 85 | 100 | 3750.00 | |
| 10250.00 | |||||
Friday, March 14, 2014
Ukraine anxiety triggers flight to safety, stocks tumble
Ukraine anxiety triggers flight to safety, stocks tumble
LONDON
(Reuters) - Heightened tensions ahead of Ukraine's weekend referendum in Crimea and stresses over China's growth pushed world stocks to their lowest in a month on Friday and sent investors scurrying into safe-haven gold and bonds.
European shares .FTEU3 started the day down 0.6 percent, putting most of the region on course for its biggest weekly drop since January while the DAX .GDAXI, whose German constituents have the most exposure to Russia, was facing its largest weekly losses since the height of the euro crisis in June 2012. .EU
Hardest hit was Moscow's MICEX index. It was down more than 5 percent at its lowest since 2009 and there was no let up in the pressure on the ruble either as it hovered near an all-time low.
Russia launched new military exercises near its border with Ukraine on Thursday, even as both the U.S. and Europe warned that Moscow risked facing serious steps if annexation was the outcome of a referendum planned for Sunday in the Crimea.
"The Ukraine is one of the most serious geopolitical situations at the moment and how it plays out is difficult to forecast," Salman Ahmed, a global fixed-income strategist at the investment arm of Swiss private bank Lombard Odier, said.
"The main risk factor is that it morphs into an unintended clash and there is bloodshed."
On top of the geopolitical power struggle, jitters also remained over the degree to which China's economy is slowing.
Copper, seen as a proxy for China's fortunes, steadied after its dizzying 5-percent fall this week, but MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS touched its lowest level since mid-February. Tokyo .N225 ended the week down more than 6 percent after 3.3 percent dive on Friday.
"Investors are unwinding their long positions in the Nikkei and short positions in the yen," Kyoya Okazawa, head of global equities and commodity derivatives at BNP Paribas, said.
TAPER ON TRACK
One of the reasons for the Nikkei's decline was that the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis sent the safe-haven yen soaring against both the dollar and the euro.
The greenback was down about 0.2 percent at 101.64 yen, while the euro slipped a similar amount to 141.05 yen.
Part of the concern over the Crimea referendum is that is could encourage other pro-Moscow parts of the country to follow suit and potentially embolden Russia in the region.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov later in the day in London in last-ditch diplomatic efforts to defuse tension between Moscow and the West.
"What we would like to see is a commitment to stop putting new facts on the ground and a commitment to engage seriously on ways to de-escalate the conflict," a U.S. State Department official said.
Solid U.S. retail sales and employment data on Thursday had also reinforced expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will stick to its plan of gradually withdrawing its asset-buying stimulus. That came after disappointing Chinese economic data.
PLAYING SAFE
The scuttle to safety pushed down German government bond yields after those on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note had fallen to two-week low 2.638 percent in Asian trading despite the upbeat U.S. data.
Gold, another safe-haven favourite, was nearly flat on the day at $1,369.06 an ounce after hitting a fresh six-month high, and was poised for its sixth straight weekly rise.
China's worries continued to weigh on the Australian dollar, considered a proxy for China plays, sending it down about 0.2 percent to $0.9009. Oil held above $107 a barrel but remained on track for its third straight weekly loss.
The euro also remained under pressure after comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who said the bank has been preparing additional policy steps to guard against deflation taking hold in the euro zone.
The single currency was down about 0.1 percent at $1.3860, moving away from Thursday's 2-1/2-year high of $1.3967 hit before Draghi spoke.
(Additional reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Louise Ireland)
(Reuters) - Heightened tensions ahead of Ukraine's weekend referendum in Crimea and stresses over China's growth pushed world stocks to their lowest in a month on Friday and sent investors scurrying into safe-haven gold and bonds.
European shares .FTEU3 started the day down 0.6 percent, putting most of the region on course for its biggest weekly drop since January while the DAX .GDAXI, whose German constituents have the most exposure to Russia, was facing its largest weekly losses since the height of the euro crisis in June 2012. .EU
Hardest hit was Moscow's MICEX index. It was down more than 5 percent at its lowest since 2009 and there was no let up in the pressure on the ruble either as it hovered near an all-time low.
Russia launched new military exercises near its border with Ukraine on Thursday, even as both the U.S. and Europe warned that Moscow risked facing serious steps if annexation was the outcome of a referendum planned for Sunday in the Crimea.
"The Ukraine is one of the most serious geopolitical situations at the moment and how it plays out is difficult to forecast," Salman Ahmed, a global fixed-income strategist at the investment arm of Swiss private bank Lombard Odier, said.
"The main risk factor is that it morphs into an unintended clash and there is bloodshed."
On top of the geopolitical power struggle, jitters also remained over the degree to which China's economy is slowing.
Copper, seen as a proxy for China's fortunes, steadied after its dizzying 5-percent fall this week, but MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS touched its lowest level since mid-February. Tokyo .N225 ended the week down more than 6 percent after 3.3 percent dive on Friday.
"Investors are unwinding their long positions in the Nikkei and short positions in the yen," Kyoya Okazawa, head of global equities and commodity derivatives at BNP Paribas, said.
TAPER ON TRACK
One of the reasons for the Nikkei's decline was that the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis sent the safe-haven yen soaring against both the dollar and the euro.
The greenback was down about 0.2 percent at 101.64 yen, while the euro slipped a similar amount to 141.05 yen.
Part of the concern over the Crimea referendum is that is could encourage other pro-Moscow parts of the country to follow suit and potentially embolden Russia in the region.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to meet Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov later in the day in London in last-ditch diplomatic efforts to defuse tension between Moscow and the West.
"What we would like to see is a commitment to stop putting new facts on the ground and a commitment to engage seriously on ways to de-escalate the conflict," a U.S. State Department official said.
Solid U.S. retail sales and employment data on Thursday had also reinforced expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will stick to its plan of gradually withdrawing its asset-buying stimulus. That came after disappointing Chinese economic data.
PLAYING SAFE
The scuttle to safety pushed down German government bond yields after those on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note had fallen to two-week low 2.638 percent in Asian trading despite the upbeat U.S. data.
Gold, another safe-haven favourite, was nearly flat on the day at $1,369.06 an ounce after hitting a fresh six-month high, and was poised for its sixth straight weekly rise.
China's worries continued to weigh on the Australian dollar, considered a proxy for China plays, sending it down about 0.2 percent to $0.9009. Oil held above $107 a barrel but remained on track for its third straight weekly loss.
The euro also remained under pressure after comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who said the bank has been preparing additional policy steps to guard against deflation taking hold in the euro zone.
The single currency was down about 0.1 percent at $1.3860, moving away from Thursday's 2-1/2-year high of $1.3967 hit before Draghi spoke.
(Additional reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Louise Ireland)
DAILY PERFORMANCE : STOCK OPTIONS : NIFTY OPTIONS : BANK NIFTY OPTIONS
| MARCH STOCKOPTIONS - RAJKAMALSTOCKOPTIONS | ||||||
| STOCK | DATE | STRIKE | ENTRY | SL | CLOSED CALL | P/L-2LOTS |
| LICHSG | 3/3/2014 | 215 CALL | 6.25 | 5.5 | 5.5 | -3000.00 |
| ADANIENT | 3/3/2014 | 270 CALL | 6.7 | 5.7 | 8.7 | 8000.00 |
| AXISBANK | 3-Mar | 1200 PUT | 22 | 10 | PENDING | |
| COALINDIA | 3/3/2014 | 250 CALL | 5 | 6.5 | 3000.00 | |
| IDFC | 4/3/2014 | 100 CALL | 3.5 | 4.5 | 8000.00 | |
| SSLT | 4/3/2014 | 185 CALL | 4.3 | 4.8 | 2000.00 | |
| CAIRN | 5/3/2014 | 340 CALL | 2.5 | BTST | 1.5 | -2000.00 |
| SBIN | 5/3/2014 | 1550 CALL | 34 | BTST | 50 | 4000.00 |
| TATAMOTORS | 14/3/2014 | 390 CALL | 10 | 12 | 4000.00 | |
| 24000.00 | ||||||
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