If you walk into a Starbucks today, people are paying not with just their cards and cash anymore, but their phones, too. Consumers – at least in most parts of the world – are still getting used to the idea that their phones can function as debit or credit cards, but attitudes toward mobile money is going to change rapidly in the next few years.
The transition to mobile payments is by no means a bad thing, though. This presents unprecedented opportunities for card issuers as the marriage of mobile and payment technologies open a huge array of new location-based service options to reward loyalty, prevent fraud and create powerful partnerships.This has big implications for marketers. But as we move toward the reality of a cardless society, this new dynamic means card issuers must rethink branding, tracking, loyalty and monetization options that will no longer be possible without a physical card.
Many businesses are adapting to that new reality. For example, in January 2013, ATM maker Diebold debuted an ATM that allows consumers to scan their phones to withdraw cash, completely forgoing cards. Millennials, too, are putting pressure on companies to go digital. As online natives, they’re more accustomed to digital activities and more likely to adopt new digital payment forms such as mobile applications like LevelUp, which reward loyalty and change marketing dynamics. PayPal is moving into the mobile space, too, alongside Google and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s Square. With digital technology, financial institutions will lose traditional customer touchpoints such as direct mailings, disclosures and the delivery of third party merchant account. Brand and image will be relegated to the screen, rather than a card, so there will be a need to deliver value in real-time in order to connect with consumers.
Card issuers will need to work hard to make sure their brand doesn’t get eclipsed by the device delivering it. With no physical presence in a wallet, businesses can turn to digital services to differentiate. The organizations that establish an early presence with applications that touch a large number of consumers will have a significant competitive advantage over the next decade, especially when it comes to delivering location-based services. Through mobile payments, organizations can create campaigns that are truly relevant to a consumer’s location.
For example, if a family visits a college, the card issuer can offer real-time discounts on that brand of college merchandise. This location could also indicate that the consumers may be interested in a student credit card account. By working with retailers and other merchants to capitalize on location intelligence campaigns, card issuers can delight consumers as they walk in the door by offering a real-time discount on that specific merchant’s products. Coupling these campaigns with geo-fencing empowers consumers to disable location-based services when they’re not wanted, too. Not only that, when card issuers partner with other businesses, it’s possible to monitor activity for fraud more effectively. If an issuer’s card or service is used to pay at a a destination that isn’t recognized as an authorized retailer, financial institutions can analyze the transaction for potential theft or fraud.
When I was 15 or 16 I needed my mom to create a PayPal account using her credit card, so I could bid on something on eBay. Like many parents her age at the time, my mom held an unwavering fear of using her credit card online, likely fuelled by pre-2004 horror stories of people being duped into releasing their information to online scams.
Nearly ten years later those fears have completely diminished for the average consumer, regardless of age. We’re in the age of mobile commerce and today two Canadian companies have bridged the gap between online and offline payment for merchants. Along with Shopify’s announcement this morning, PayPal Canada announced an agreement with restaurant technology provider TouchBistro to allow customers to use their smartphone to check-in and pay with PayPal at cafés and restaurants at the POS.
The two competitors are both unveiling products in a space they envision to take off, one that hasn’t been taken advantage of by online retail solution providers. Why only offer merchants online stores when Shopify and PayPal can allow those stores to streamline operations?
Shopify is targeting its 65,000 merchants, as about one third of them also operate brick-and-mortar locations. It’ll cost merchants an additional $49 per month, while the hardware costs range from $19 for a credit-card reader to $499 for the whole nine yards. That includes a cash drawer, a bar code scanner, a receipt printer and aforementioned credit card reader.
“…the future of retail isn’t online versus in-store, it’s a seamless combination of both. Shopify has transitioned from simply powering online sales to powering all commerce: online, offline, third party payment gateway, and everything in between,” said Adam McNamara, Shopify's vice president of product.Shopify appears ready to initially bring in higher revenues from its offerings than PayPal. But PayPal may be the one who benefits most down the road.
PayPal is not only targeting a different clientele, but is executing a pilot program using TouchBistro for select restaurant locations in Toronto. TouchBistro provides a popular POS app used by over 1,000 restaurantss, cafes and food trucks. It is currently the top-grossing food and beverage app in 18 countries on the App Store. Using the PayPal mobile app, customers can check-in to these cafés or restaurants (even before they arrive) and pay using their PayPal account, where their name and profile picture shows up for cashiers.
They’ve even convinced popular startup coffee spot Jimmy’s Café, near Project RHINO, to accept PayPal mobile payments at their TouchBistro iPad POS. Unlike Shopify’s new offering, PayPal is betting on a hardware-independent approach.
"We're collaborating globally with existing POS providers so that businesses don't have to rip or install new hardware to deliver unique and useful mobile payment experiences for their customers,” said PayPal Canada’s Darrell MacMullin. “We're thrilled to work with TouchBistro…for our five million active PayPal users in Canada.”
Matthew Braga of the Financial Post wrote today that the iPad, which both Shopify and PayPal are using as the basis of their POS systems, “has quickly become a point-of-sale industry mainstay amongst hospitality and retail clients.”
While traditional debit and credit terminals offered by banks offer scant analytical insight, the iPad systems promise more comprehensive options for “measuring sales analytics, maintaining customer databases, managing inventory and processing non-traditional forms of payment (such as devices using near-field communication or digital wallets).”
Braga wrote that the two companies are certainly targeting different audiences: Shopify is targeting its merchant customers who are already using its services, while PayPal is going after individual consumers.We’ll be sure to keep an eye on both these companies over the next six months as time will tell who ends up ahead of the other.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
2013年8月28日星期三
2013年8月26日星期一
Middle East vandalism is destroying centuries
The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, for example, shows no regard for either Christian or Islamic heritage.Since violence erupted across Egypt over the ousting of President Mohamed Morsi, looting and destruction of historical relics have been commonplace. In the city of Minya more than 1,000 artifacts were stolen from the Malawi Museum, including a priceless 3,500 year old statue, pottery and coins.
Similar destruction has also been taking place elsewhere. After Islamists moved into Northern Mali, the great cultural city of Timbuktu was seized by an Islamic faction called the Ansar Dine. Referring to the ongoing demolition of property in Timbuktu, an Ansar Dine spokesman said, “The destruction is a divine order. It’s our Prophet who said that each time that someone builds something on top of a grave, it needs to be pulled back to the ground.”
Such events are not without precedent in Egypt. The Ancient Library of Alexandria which contained irreplaceable scrolls and manuscripts dating as far back as 300 BC. was forever lost in a devastating fire. Even today the library is regarded as a symbol of “knowledge and culture destroyed.”
Though four theories exist about the cause of the library fire, most Western scholars do not believe the blaze was the result of the Muslim invasion and conquest of Egypt in 641. Early Muslim writers, third party merchant account, claim the conflagration was ordered by Caliph Umar.
As Robert Spencer notes in his book Not Peace but a Sword, when Umar was asked why the library should be burned, he replied, “If the books in it agree with the Qur’an, they are superfluous. If they disagree with the Qur’an, they are heretical. Only one book was needed.”Even if the theory about the Alexandria library is not true, there are other examples that of similar destruction. Less than two years ago, nearly 200,000 books were destroyed in the Egyptian Scientific Institute in Cairo.
Religious icons, statues, paintings and the like are regarded as apostasy by Islamic purists. That is why representations and cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad are so inflammatory to the true believers.Mosques in Saudi Arabia are completely devoid of any ornamentation for that reason.After Mohamed Morsi became president of Egypt in the summer of 2012, some followers called for the destruction of the Great Pyramids. The idea had been proposed in the past, but the lack of technology served as a preventative.
The most popular story about the Sphinx at Giza losing its nose is that it happened during the Napoleonic Wars. Other sources attribute the de-nosing to an incident in the 14th century when local peasants were found making offerings at the base of the Sphinx with the hope that Nile floods would improve their harvest. When a Sufi Muslim learned of the offerings, he became so angry that he destroyed the nose.
As so frequently happens in the chasm between Islam and the West, such concepts are completely alien to our way of thinking. Why would Muslims want to destroy Islamic culture?Much of the reason relates to ancient tribal traditions of the desert which are still very much in evidence in the Middle East today. Because of that tribal heritage, Islamists have no true national identity. They only relate the “culture” of Islam which is contained within the pages of the Koran. Nothing more is necessary.
Robert Spencer explains, “You can pretty much correlate in Islamic history the strength and aggression and rise of the great Islamic empires of the past with the size of the Jewish and Christian communities that were subjugated within those empires and were paying for that imperial expansion. When those communities were exhausted economically, then the Islamic empires went into decline. This is an absolute correlation.”One need only look at Detroit and it neighbors here in the United States for validation. Once the fourth largest city in the country, it has become so heavily influenced by Muslims that some have nicknamed it “Dearbornistan.”
As long as Islam remains a one way street, there can be no compromise with the West. As Spencer points out, “In Islam, any moral law can be set aside for the good of the Muslims. This is Islam’s only functional moral absolute.”Flipkart recently raised $200 million from existing investors, making it the single largest round of funding in the Indian ecommerce market. The Bangalore-based company is on a growth track without worrying about profits for a next few years. It is bracing itself for challenges arising from its transition to being a market place from being just a book e-tailer.
Sachin Bansal, founder and CEO, speaks to Business Line on its evolution, expansion and innovations that could be a game changer for any e-commerce company. Edited excerpts:You have been talking about changing your business model. What does that mean for the third party payment gateway? Has the process started? Of late, there have been several consumer complaints on non-delivery, delayed delivery and cancellation as well. Is this due to the transition? How are you tackling the issue?
Every time we make changes, there are challenges. We are facing some problems as we overlooked a few things. Service is in our blood and we are very proud of it. Recently, I would admit that there were a few problems and we are agonised due to this. But we will bounce back. It is a temporary mess on the supply chain side. We are working towards fixing the problems in a few weeks time.
The last round of funding will be used in setting up a good supply chain and logistics infrastructure. It will also help filter out good sellers from bad sellers. Also invest in creating a process that will manage the same and also develop talent.Does moving to a market place mean more profits? Is the company nearing the breakeven point?
In India e-commerce has happened, but it is still far behind the developed countries. Currently, it is at $1 billion and is expected to reach $76 billion by 2020. Our funding proves that investors are now willing to put their money in this growth story. The focus at this point in time is to get more customers to shop online and make it a regular activity. Right now, it is about achievements and not thinking about profits for the next few years.
We keep looking at opportunities. We are interested in two types of companies – a company which is doing something we haven’t or can not do; second, companies with technical expertise that can help us scale up. We are in talks with 20 companies at the moment.You have discontinued selling consumer durables, any specific reason?
We will be soon coming back with consumer durables. We are building a different supply chain for shipping large and bulky items, this will also include furniture.We will soon have furniture as a category. We are shipping electronics items to only 50 cities as of now. With the new supply chain, we will be able to serve to each and every customer having a broadband connection.There have been rumours of several e-commerce firms trying to get into pharmacy. Any plans on that front?
No, we have not considered it as a category.Amazon has entered the Indian market and many others are planning to enter. Besides, several offline players are also betting big on e-commerce. Does this bother you?We were very sure that as soon as the market starts getting bigger, several players, including the brick and mortar players, will be making plans. This means that the market is on an upswing and we are well prepared for that. Competition is expected and our strategy will be to maintain our leadership position.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
Similar destruction has also been taking place elsewhere. After Islamists moved into Northern Mali, the great cultural city of Timbuktu was seized by an Islamic faction called the Ansar Dine. Referring to the ongoing demolition of property in Timbuktu, an Ansar Dine spokesman said, “The destruction is a divine order. It’s our Prophet who said that each time that someone builds something on top of a grave, it needs to be pulled back to the ground.”
Such events are not without precedent in Egypt. The Ancient Library of Alexandria which contained irreplaceable scrolls and manuscripts dating as far back as 300 BC. was forever lost in a devastating fire. Even today the library is regarded as a symbol of “knowledge and culture destroyed.”
Though four theories exist about the cause of the library fire, most Western scholars do not believe the blaze was the result of the Muslim invasion and conquest of Egypt in 641. Early Muslim writers, third party merchant account, claim the conflagration was ordered by Caliph Umar.
As Robert Spencer notes in his book Not Peace but a Sword, when Umar was asked why the library should be burned, he replied, “If the books in it agree with the Qur’an, they are superfluous. If they disagree with the Qur’an, they are heretical. Only one book was needed.”Even if the theory about the Alexandria library is not true, there are other examples that of similar destruction. Less than two years ago, nearly 200,000 books were destroyed in the Egyptian Scientific Institute in Cairo.
Religious icons, statues, paintings and the like are regarded as apostasy by Islamic purists. That is why representations and cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad are so inflammatory to the true believers.Mosques in Saudi Arabia are completely devoid of any ornamentation for that reason.After Mohamed Morsi became president of Egypt in the summer of 2012, some followers called for the destruction of the Great Pyramids. The idea had been proposed in the past, but the lack of technology served as a preventative.
The most popular story about the Sphinx at Giza losing its nose is that it happened during the Napoleonic Wars. Other sources attribute the de-nosing to an incident in the 14th century when local peasants were found making offerings at the base of the Sphinx with the hope that Nile floods would improve their harvest. When a Sufi Muslim learned of the offerings, he became so angry that he destroyed the nose.
As so frequently happens in the chasm between Islam and the West, such concepts are completely alien to our way of thinking. Why would Muslims want to destroy Islamic culture?Much of the reason relates to ancient tribal traditions of the desert which are still very much in evidence in the Middle East today. Because of that tribal heritage, Islamists have no true national identity. They only relate the “culture” of Islam which is contained within the pages of the Koran. Nothing more is necessary.
Robert Spencer explains, “You can pretty much correlate in Islamic history the strength and aggression and rise of the great Islamic empires of the past with the size of the Jewish and Christian communities that were subjugated within those empires and were paying for that imperial expansion. When those communities were exhausted economically, then the Islamic empires went into decline. This is an absolute correlation.”One need only look at Detroit and it neighbors here in the United States for validation. Once the fourth largest city in the country, it has become so heavily influenced by Muslims that some have nicknamed it “Dearbornistan.”
As long as Islam remains a one way street, there can be no compromise with the West. As Spencer points out, “In Islam, any moral law can be set aside for the good of the Muslims. This is Islam’s only functional moral absolute.”Flipkart recently raised $200 million from existing investors, making it the single largest round of funding in the Indian ecommerce market. The Bangalore-based company is on a growth track without worrying about profits for a next few years. It is bracing itself for challenges arising from its transition to being a market place from being just a book e-tailer.
Sachin Bansal, founder and CEO, speaks to Business Line on its evolution, expansion and innovations that could be a game changer for any e-commerce company. Edited excerpts:You have been talking about changing your business model. What does that mean for the third party payment gateway? Has the process started? Of late, there have been several consumer complaints on non-delivery, delayed delivery and cancellation as well. Is this due to the transition? How are you tackling the issue?
Every time we make changes, there are challenges. We are facing some problems as we overlooked a few things. Service is in our blood and we are very proud of it. Recently, I would admit that there were a few problems and we are agonised due to this. But we will bounce back. It is a temporary mess on the supply chain side. We are working towards fixing the problems in a few weeks time.
The last round of funding will be used in setting up a good supply chain and logistics infrastructure. It will also help filter out good sellers from bad sellers. Also invest in creating a process that will manage the same and also develop talent.Does moving to a market place mean more profits? Is the company nearing the breakeven point?
In India e-commerce has happened, but it is still far behind the developed countries. Currently, it is at $1 billion and is expected to reach $76 billion by 2020. Our funding proves that investors are now willing to put their money in this growth story. The focus at this point in time is to get more customers to shop online and make it a regular activity. Right now, it is about achievements and not thinking about profits for the next few years.
We keep looking at opportunities. We are interested in two types of companies – a company which is doing something we haven’t or can not do; second, companies with technical expertise that can help us scale up. We are in talks with 20 companies at the moment.You have discontinued selling consumer durables, any specific reason?
We will be soon coming back with consumer durables. We are building a different supply chain for shipping large and bulky items, this will also include furniture.We will soon have furniture as a category. We are shipping electronics items to only 50 cities as of now. With the new supply chain, we will be able to serve to each and every customer having a broadband connection.There have been rumours of several e-commerce firms trying to get into pharmacy. Any plans on that front?
No, we have not considered it as a category.Amazon has entered the Indian market and many others are planning to enter. Besides, several offline players are also betting big on e-commerce. Does this bother you?We were very sure that as soon as the market starts getting bigger, several players, including the brick and mortar players, will be making plans. This means that the market is on an upswing and we are well prepared for that. Competition is expected and our strategy will be to maintain our leadership position.
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/!
2013年8月12日星期一
Ship Values Rebounding Most
The value of five-year-old Capesizes, the largest iron-ore carriers, rose 5.7 percent to $31.4 million this year, while Panamaxes, the biggest to navigate the Panama Canal, climbed 16 percent to $21.2 million, according to the Baltic Exchange. Investors should buy Golden Ocean and Norden because the shares don’t fully reflect the gains, said Erik Nikolai Stavseth, an analyst at Arctic Securities ASA in Oslo whose recommendations on shipping companies returned 75 percent in three years.
Rising secondhand values are a sign that some investors are getting more bullish on the outlook for third party merchant account, which tumbled as much as 95 percent from their peak in 2008. The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of earnings across four vessel classes, rebounded 42 percent this year as fleet growth slowed and seaborne trade in everything from iron ore and coal to soybeans and fertilizers expanded to a record.
“People are buying ships because they think we’re past the bottom,” said Stavseth, who predicts that shares of Golden Ocean will advance 7.1 percent in a year and Norden will gain 25 percent. “Rising ship prices tell us that the market is moving in the right direction and earnings are expected to increase.”
The Baltic Dry Index reached an 18-month high on July 1 as rates rose for every vessel class in the gauge, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange, which publishes shipping costs along more than 50 maritime routes. Capesize earnings more than doubled this year and those for Panamaxes jumped 35 percent. Both are still below the amount that owners need to break even once financing costs are taken into account.
Capesize earnings will average $16,000 a day next year, the average of nine analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg shows. That’s more than the $14,458 anticipated in freight swaps that third party payment gateway use to bet on future transport prices, Baltic Exchange data show. Owners need $14,500 to break even, according to RS Platou Markets AS, an investment bank in Oslo.
The combined capacity of the dry-bulk fleet will expand 7 percent this year, the least since 2008, according to London-based Clarkson Plc, the largest shipbroker. Rates plunged after owners ordered too many new vessels just before the global recession. The fleet grew 63 percent since 2008 as seaborne trade in commodities advanced 24 percent.
While rates are surging this year, they are still far below the peaks reached before the five-year slump. Capesizes earned as much as $234,000 a day in 2008, compared with $10,550 now. Panamax rates that last priced at $7,481 rose as high as $94,977 in 2007, Baltic Exchange data show. Panamaxes, each capable of hauling about 75,000 metric tons of cargo, need about $11,000 to break even, Platou says.
Vessel values are also still below their record highs. A five-year-old Capesize sold for as much as $153.8 million in 2008 and Panamaxes were trading as high as $90.72 million in 2007. The combined market capitalization of the world’s 75 largest publicly traded shipping companies came to $118.5 billion at the end of July, from as high as $260 billion in 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The only long-term solution for FIs to maintain brand equity is to launch their own mobile wallet or become a major component of an industry-leading platform, the Mercator report said.
"Banks should only get involved with truly open mobile wallets that are able to store any type of payment card held by a consumer, along with loyalty and membership cards and identity credentials," Hewitt said.
In the short term, banks can build high-value mobile banking platforms to stand in for fully-fledged mobile payments wallets, the report added, and these platforms will provide a ready customer base when banks launch their own mobile wallets.
Digital bank accounts, which are offered by branch-based banks, online-only banks such as Simple and U.S. prepaid card issuer PreCash's FlipMoney, are used for bill payments and for P2P payments via smartphone. These accounts presently do not offer a mobile shopping payment capability, Hewitt said.
Mobile payment products access a primary or private-label payment account offered by a single merchant or merchant aggregator. Examples include PayPal and Starbucks' mobile app, which links its prepaid card to a smartphone.
True mobile wallets are interactive, virtual forms of physical wallets that let consumers select a specific payment type, such as a credit or debit card, to use at the point of sale. Examples include Paydiant, which just won a contract to supply mobile wallet solutions to Pulse network participants, Visa's V.Me and MasterCard's MasterPass.
Rising secondhand values are a sign that some investors are getting more bullish on the outlook for third party merchant account, which tumbled as much as 95 percent from their peak in 2008. The Baltic Dry Index, a measure of earnings across four vessel classes, rebounded 42 percent this year as fleet growth slowed and seaborne trade in everything from iron ore and coal to soybeans and fertilizers expanded to a record.
“People are buying ships because they think we’re past the bottom,” said Stavseth, who predicts that shares of Golden Ocean will advance 7.1 percent in a year and Norden will gain 25 percent. “Rising ship prices tell us that the market is moving in the right direction and earnings are expected to increase.”
The Baltic Dry Index reached an 18-month high on July 1 as rates rose for every vessel class in the gauge, according to the London-based Baltic Exchange, which publishes shipping costs along more than 50 maritime routes. Capesize earnings more than doubled this year and those for Panamaxes jumped 35 percent. Both are still below the amount that owners need to break even once financing costs are taken into account.
Capesize earnings will average $16,000 a day next year, the average of nine analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg shows. That’s more than the $14,458 anticipated in freight swaps that third party payment gateway use to bet on future transport prices, Baltic Exchange data show. Owners need $14,500 to break even, according to RS Platou Markets AS, an investment bank in Oslo.
The combined capacity of the dry-bulk fleet will expand 7 percent this year, the least since 2008, according to London-based Clarkson Plc, the largest shipbroker. Rates plunged after owners ordered too many new vessels just before the global recession. The fleet grew 63 percent since 2008 as seaborne trade in commodities advanced 24 percent.
While rates are surging this year, they are still far below the peaks reached before the five-year slump. Capesizes earned as much as $234,000 a day in 2008, compared with $10,550 now. Panamax rates that last priced at $7,481 rose as high as $94,977 in 2007, Baltic Exchange data show. Panamaxes, each capable of hauling about 75,000 metric tons of cargo, need about $11,000 to break even, Platou says.
Vessel values are also still below their record highs. A five-year-old Capesize sold for as much as $153.8 million in 2008 and Panamaxes were trading as high as $90.72 million in 2007. The combined market capitalization of the world’s 75 largest publicly traded shipping companies came to $118.5 billion at the end of July, from as high as $260 billion in 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The only long-term solution for FIs to maintain brand equity is to launch their own mobile wallet or become a major component of an industry-leading platform, the Mercator report said.
"Banks should only get involved with truly open mobile wallets that are able to store any type of payment card held by a consumer, along with loyalty and membership cards and identity credentials," Hewitt said.
In the short term, banks can build high-value mobile banking platforms to stand in for fully-fledged mobile payments wallets, the report added, and these platforms will provide a ready customer base when banks launch their own mobile wallets.
Digital bank accounts, which are offered by branch-based banks, online-only banks such as Simple and U.S. prepaid card issuer PreCash's FlipMoney, are used for bill payments and for P2P payments via smartphone. These accounts presently do not offer a mobile shopping payment capability, Hewitt said.
Mobile payment products access a primary or private-label payment account offered by a single merchant or merchant aggregator. Examples include PayPal and Starbucks' mobile app, which links its prepaid card to a smartphone.
True mobile wallets are interactive, virtual forms of physical wallets that let consumers select a specific payment type, such as a credit or debit card, to use at the point of sale. Examples include Paydiant, which just won a contract to supply mobile wallet solutions to Pulse network participants, Visa's V.Me and MasterCard's MasterPass.
2013年8月7日星期三
Plausibility aside, bedtime story
The second film in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series - there are 10 novels in total to work with, so prepare for more - is an odd, yet not un-entertaining thing.
The plot feels akin to that which an exhausted father might try to conjure on the fly as his child begs for an original bedtime story late at night, and it's probably because co-writer Rick Riordan, author of the books, was doing precisely this before he decided to release his semi-delirious ramblings to a larger audience.
Now, these ramblings are on the big screen, in 3D, whether they make sense or not. The premise of the series is that the Greek gods were a rather unfaithful lot - many of them shacked up with third party payment gateway, resulting in a bunch of demigods, or half-bloods as they're unceremoniously dubbed here, who all have very mortal-sounding names like Percy,Tyson and Grover and spend the majority of their time at a retreat in the woods outside New York called Camp Half-Blood, run by Stanley Tucci and a centaur.
In this instalment, Percy (Logan Lerman) starts off miserable. After preventing a war between the gods, he's plagued by the fear that he's just a "one-quest wonder." Then, he discovers he has a cyclops half-brother who suffers from incredibly poor depth perception and white-guy dreadlocks. On top of this, he's unable to connect with his father, Poseidon (part of the communication barrier may have something to do with the fact that he keeps speaking to a lake, when Poseidon is god of the sea. Just a hunch).
Fortunately, the camp happens to keep a prophet on staff, so Percy wanders up to ask her what gives. She explains he is destined either to save the world or ruin it - it's unclear which. She also uses the word "raze" at one point, and Percy has to clarify that she doesn't mean "raise" (smart).
Ultimately, he decides it's his destiny, or something like it, to travel to the Bermuda Triangle - apparently called the Sea of Monsters in the Greek god community - capture the Golden Fleece, bring it back in order to heal a dying tree that happens to be the reincarnation of Zeus's half-blood daughter Talia, all while preventing a tortured camper named Luke from resurrecting the evil god Kronos.
It's a lot to take in, but the details hardly matter. Director Thor Freudenthal is clearly on a mission to have fun rather than pay attention to mythological consistency or any remote sense of plausibility, and that's fine. It's how we end up in a Manhattan cab driven by three female zombies who accept payment only in drachmas, or at an abandoned amusement park on an island where Polyphemus appears to be using the Golden Fleece as a burping cloth (it does look absorbent).
Riordan's humour also comes through in a series of mortal-meets-immortal culture clashes - the gateway to the underworld, for instance, is reportedly located in Hollywood. And, if you want to deliver something to a god, you simply visit Hermes, who runs a high-tech enterprise out of a UPS branch.
Any moral heft in this film is carried by Lerman, best known for his role in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and this is a good thing - he can step up to lead but also knows when to let others take the spotlight, and he's got a way of delivering bizarre humour in a way that only makes it funnier. One of the best lines in Sea Monsters comes near the end, when Percy says, "Finding out you have a destiny is a lot like finding out you have a cyclops for a half-brother - it's not as bad as you think."
Not your run-of-the-mill lesson to walk away with, that's for sure. Of course, nothing here is run-of-the-mill, which is what makes it so appealing. This isn't to say there won't be endless moments of frustration with absurd plot twists, onedimensional characters and way too much power given to a fleece blanket, but somehow all these wrongs add up to an inexplicable right. It's why children love improvised bedtime stories - a meandering, faulty narrative can be a ton of fun.
Deputy Green said: “Changes to the economic climate have continued to affect the housing market. The demand for affordable homes is increasing each month, which means people are waiting longer for high risk merchant account. I’m confident that the significant policy changes proposed by the Minister for Planning and Environment will, alongside other initiatives such as our Deferred Payment and Deposit Loan Schemes, help to deliver affordable homes targeted to those who need them most.”
The Affordable Housing Gateway has just published its monthly waiting list report for July and it shows that there are currently a total of 1,340 people in need of various types of social housing. However, this figure does not take into account the unmet demand for other groups such as key workers. It is also important to recognise the growing need for over-55s and life-long homes to meet the needs of an ageing population and that certain groups, such as single people and childless couples under 50 do not presently qualify for social rented housing. More sites may therefore be required over time to meet the needs of these groups.
Deputy Green said: “The Gateway is now giving us very reliable data on the housing requirements of our community but I am concerned that certain groups are still excluded. We will need to deal with that in time through the development of a long-term housing strategy, work which the new Strategic Housing Unit has underway. One of the key areas that will need to be considered is how we take care of the housing needs of essential key workers, particularly those that support our Health Service.”
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/.
The plot feels akin to that which an exhausted father might try to conjure on the fly as his child begs for an original bedtime story late at night, and it's probably because co-writer Rick Riordan, author of the books, was doing precisely this before he decided to release his semi-delirious ramblings to a larger audience.
Now, these ramblings are on the big screen, in 3D, whether they make sense or not. The premise of the series is that the Greek gods were a rather unfaithful lot - many of them shacked up with third party payment gateway, resulting in a bunch of demigods, or half-bloods as they're unceremoniously dubbed here, who all have very mortal-sounding names like Percy,Tyson and Grover and spend the majority of their time at a retreat in the woods outside New York called Camp Half-Blood, run by Stanley Tucci and a centaur.
In this instalment, Percy (Logan Lerman) starts off miserable. After preventing a war between the gods, he's plagued by the fear that he's just a "one-quest wonder." Then, he discovers he has a cyclops half-brother who suffers from incredibly poor depth perception and white-guy dreadlocks. On top of this, he's unable to connect with his father, Poseidon (part of the communication barrier may have something to do with the fact that he keeps speaking to a lake, when Poseidon is god of the sea. Just a hunch).
Fortunately, the camp happens to keep a prophet on staff, so Percy wanders up to ask her what gives. She explains he is destined either to save the world or ruin it - it's unclear which. She also uses the word "raze" at one point, and Percy has to clarify that she doesn't mean "raise" (smart).
Ultimately, he decides it's his destiny, or something like it, to travel to the Bermuda Triangle - apparently called the Sea of Monsters in the Greek god community - capture the Golden Fleece, bring it back in order to heal a dying tree that happens to be the reincarnation of Zeus's half-blood daughter Talia, all while preventing a tortured camper named Luke from resurrecting the evil god Kronos.
It's a lot to take in, but the details hardly matter. Director Thor Freudenthal is clearly on a mission to have fun rather than pay attention to mythological consistency or any remote sense of plausibility, and that's fine. It's how we end up in a Manhattan cab driven by three female zombies who accept payment only in drachmas, or at an abandoned amusement park on an island where Polyphemus appears to be using the Golden Fleece as a burping cloth (it does look absorbent).
Riordan's humour also comes through in a series of mortal-meets-immortal culture clashes - the gateway to the underworld, for instance, is reportedly located in Hollywood. And, if you want to deliver something to a god, you simply visit Hermes, who runs a high-tech enterprise out of a UPS branch.
Any moral heft in this film is carried by Lerman, best known for his role in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and this is a good thing - he can step up to lead but also knows when to let others take the spotlight, and he's got a way of delivering bizarre humour in a way that only makes it funnier. One of the best lines in Sea Monsters comes near the end, when Percy says, "Finding out you have a destiny is a lot like finding out you have a cyclops for a half-brother - it's not as bad as you think."
Not your run-of-the-mill lesson to walk away with, that's for sure. Of course, nothing here is run-of-the-mill, which is what makes it so appealing. This isn't to say there won't be endless moments of frustration with absurd plot twists, onedimensional characters and way too much power given to a fleece blanket, but somehow all these wrongs add up to an inexplicable right. It's why children love improvised bedtime stories - a meandering, faulty narrative can be a ton of fun.
Deputy Green said: “Changes to the economic climate have continued to affect the housing market. The demand for affordable homes is increasing each month, which means people are waiting longer for high risk merchant account. I’m confident that the significant policy changes proposed by the Minister for Planning and Environment will, alongside other initiatives such as our Deferred Payment and Deposit Loan Schemes, help to deliver affordable homes targeted to those who need them most.”
The Affordable Housing Gateway has just published its monthly waiting list report for July and it shows that there are currently a total of 1,340 people in need of various types of social housing. However, this figure does not take into account the unmet demand for other groups such as key workers. It is also important to recognise the growing need for over-55s and life-long homes to meet the needs of an ageing population and that certain groups, such as single people and childless couples under 50 do not presently qualify for social rented housing. More sites may therefore be required over time to meet the needs of these groups.
Deputy Green said: “The Gateway is now giving us very reliable data on the housing requirements of our community but I am concerned that certain groups are still excluded. We will need to deal with that in time through the development of a long-term housing strategy, work which the new Strategic Housing Unit has underway. One of the key areas that will need to be considered is how we take care of the housing needs of essential key workers, particularly those that support our Health Service.”
Read the full products at http://austpay.com/.
2013年5月20日星期一
The Clash of the Gaming Headsets
One of the most common headset related questions asked by many is: apart ftom the stereotype of being obnoxiously large and garish, what exactly separates a gaming headset from regular plain-vanilla headphones? While much of the stereotype is true, a good gaming headset offers a lot more than that. This includes a competent noise cancelling mic, comfort for long listening sessions and excellent soundstage as well as positional accuracy, among many specifics that make these headsets excel at gaming.
The mostly nocturnal gaming habits of gamers and the proliferation of LAN party culture has lead to an increasing number of gaming headset adopters. This trend is also reflected in the growing number of specialist gaming headset manufacturers and their ever increasing product range. To make your choice in this perplexing market a tab easier, we've conducted a comparison between five of the best gaming headsets available in the Air purifier today.
There are two schools of thought regarding the looks of a headset. Audiophiles tend to downplay the aspect by justifying that you can't see a headset, but only hear it, so the sound quality is what ultimately matters. On the other hand, scores of gamers who take their headsets out for LAN parties do care about how badass it makes them look. So, it's no wonder why the single most conspicuous element separating gaming headsets from regular ones is their aggressive styling.
Some would say that Cooler Master's CM Storm Sonuz bears rather unconventional looks. To be brutally honest, that's just a nice way of saying that the designers seem to have given it a thorough beating with the ugly stick. It's too grey and bulky, while the weird teardrop shape of the cups doesn't help its tendency to make you look like a massive douchebag. And then there is the other ugly duckling, the Sennheiser PC 350 SE. Going simply by its looks, one would assume the Sennheiser PC 350 SE to be priced around the Rs 5,000 mark. This is largely due to its chronically plasticky look and feel, especially for the price. The material employed isn't exactly cheap, but it sure as hell doesn't seem remotely as luxurious or high-quality as one would expect of a headset priced at Rs 19,990.
The ASUS ROG Vulcan Pro, however ,is the very epitome of the ideal headphone design. It strikes a great balance between style and aggression with its all-black finish and an ear cup fashioned out of shiny, blood-red plastic. Everything from the tasteful chrome accents, brushed metal design on the ear cup inserts and the acres of leatherette across the device is thoroughly pleasing to the eye. The Corsair Vengeance 1300's understated looks are neither particularly eye catching, nor are they offensive. If you're the kind who likes to keep a low profile, these headphones should suit you just right. A heavily cushioned grey headband is the only respite from the overbearing dominance of black matte plastic all across the headset. However, the overall chunky design and the blue accent on the ear cups give it a bit of character.
he Razer Blackshark's utilitarian military design gives it ruggedness as well as practicality. The old school aircraft-grade headset style gimbal mounts do their job well and allow the headset to conform to the face with ease. The cord length is a bit short even when you factor in the extension, but the overall quality makes up for it. The plastics used on the ear cups are top notch, whereas the tastefully stitched headband feels great as well. What impressed the most was the detachable mic with a great articulated arm that looks decidedly old-school.
The ASUS ROG Vulcan Pro features a sturdy construction replete with steel height adjustment bands that allow it to fit crowns of any size. The driver enclosures exhibit an impressive range of articulation, thereby allowing them to conform neatly to the contours of your head. This is achieved with a ball-and-socket construction that connects the headband to the ear cups. The materials employed are pretty good for the price, with high-quality plastics used all around. It features all the goodies a gamer can ask for with detachable mic and cables, a slick carrying case, as well as active noise cancellation to drown out the ambient noise at LAN parties. All this sturdiness achieved while being a collapsible design is quite impressive.
The Cooler Master Sonuz disappoints with its decidedly plasticky chassis and a build quality that reeks of excessive free play between components. Apart from this, the ear cups attached with ball-and-socket joints may not be elegant, but they get the job done. The steel headband also may not feel well put together, but it's functional. This headset is among the cheapest of the lot and that cheapness comes through in its build quality. The Corsair Vengeance 1300, however, is an exception to that rule. It features excellent material quality and design for what's essentially the lowest price. The headband is nice and thick with a generous amount of cushion. The material used on ear cups and the rest of the chassis is pretty good for its price as well. For that sort of money, you're getting a very well constructed headset bearing excellent circumaural ear cups and a well-designed mic.
It’s an experience I can’t recommend highly enough. The Oculus Rift is a gadget that could very well change the landscape of video games in the near future, bringing a viable virtual reality option to gamers for the first time ever. Hawken is, unsurprisingly, very well suited to the experience.
One thing not included in the demo I played was the final version of the Oculus screen. The resolution of the current build isn’t as high as the final build, and the Oculus team told me that this more than anything is crucial to the device’s success. Affordable, high-resolution screens are key to creating an immersive experience at a cost that consumers can afford.
In other words, one of the big reasons virtual reality is on the near horizon is the advent of mobile and tablet technology.
Without a manufacturing infrastructure in place that caters to the smaller screens, any company interested in producing a VR headset would have needed to start from scratch with the screens. Now that this infrastructure is already in place, it’s just a matter of the technology getting to the right point (and price-point) for the system to become a reality.
The mostly nocturnal gaming habits of gamers and the proliferation of LAN party culture has lead to an increasing number of gaming headset adopters. This trend is also reflected in the growing number of specialist gaming headset manufacturers and their ever increasing product range. To make your choice in this perplexing market a tab easier, we've conducted a comparison between five of the best gaming headsets available in the Air purifier today.
There are two schools of thought regarding the looks of a headset. Audiophiles tend to downplay the aspect by justifying that you can't see a headset, but only hear it, so the sound quality is what ultimately matters. On the other hand, scores of gamers who take their headsets out for LAN parties do care about how badass it makes them look. So, it's no wonder why the single most conspicuous element separating gaming headsets from regular ones is their aggressive styling.
Some would say that Cooler Master's CM Storm Sonuz bears rather unconventional looks. To be brutally honest, that's just a nice way of saying that the designers seem to have given it a thorough beating with the ugly stick. It's too grey and bulky, while the weird teardrop shape of the cups doesn't help its tendency to make you look like a massive douchebag. And then there is the other ugly duckling, the Sennheiser PC 350 SE. Going simply by its looks, one would assume the Sennheiser PC 350 SE to be priced around the Rs 5,000 mark. This is largely due to its chronically plasticky look and feel, especially for the price. The material employed isn't exactly cheap, but it sure as hell doesn't seem remotely as luxurious or high-quality as one would expect of a headset priced at Rs 19,990.
The ASUS ROG Vulcan Pro, however ,is the very epitome of the ideal headphone design. It strikes a great balance between style and aggression with its all-black finish and an ear cup fashioned out of shiny, blood-red plastic. Everything from the tasteful chrome accents, brushed metal design on the ear cup inserts and the acres of leatherette across the device is thoroughly pleasing to the eye. The Corsair Vengeance 1300's understated looks are neither particularly eye catching, nor are they offensive. If you're the kind who likes to keep a low profile, these headphones should suit you just right. A heavily cushioned grey headband is the only respite from the overbearing dominance of black matte plastic all across the headset. However, the overall chunky design and the blue accent on the ear cups give it a bit of character.
he Razer Blackshark's utilitarian military design gives it ruggedness as well as practicality. The old school aircraft-grade headset style gimbal mounts do their job well and allow the headset to conform to the face with ease. The cord length is a bit short even when you factor in the extension, but the overall quality makes up for it. The plastics used on the ear cups are top notch, whereas the tastefully stitched headband feels great as well. What impressed the most was the detachable mic with a great articulated arm that looks decidedly old-school.
The ASUS ROG Vulcan Pro features a sturdy construction replete with steel height adjustment bands that allow it to fit crowns of any size. The driver enclosures exhibit an impressive range of articulation, thereby allowing them to conform neatly to the contours of your head. This is achieved with a ball-and-socket construction that connects the headband to the ear cups. The materials employed are pretty good for the price, with high-quality plastics used all around. It features all the goodies a gamer can ask for with detachable mic and cables, a slick carrying case, as well as active noise cancellation to drown out the ambient noise at LAN parties. All this sturdiness achieved while being a collapsible design is quite impressive.
The Cooler Master Sonuz disappoints with its decidedly plasticky chassis and a build quality that reeks of excessive free play between components. Apart from this, the ear cups attached with ball-and-socket joints may not be elegant, but they get the job done. The steel headband also may not feel well put together, but it's functional. This headset is among the cheapest of the lot and that cheapness comes through in its build quality. The Corsair Vengeance 1300, however, is an exception to that rule. It features excellent material quality and design for what's essentially the lowest price. The headband is nice and thick with a generous amount of cushion. The material used on ear cups and the rest of the chassis is pretty good for its price as well. For that sort of money, you're getting a very well constructed headset bearing excellent circumaural ear cups and a well-designed mic.
It’s an experience I can’t recommend highly enough. The Oculus Rift is a gadget that could very well change the landscape of video games in the near future, bringing a viable virtual reality option to gamers for the first time ever. Hawken is, unsurprisingly, very well suited to the experience.
One thing not included in the demo I played was the final version of the Oculus screen. The resolution of the current build isn’t as high as the final build, and the Oculus team told me that this more than anything is crucial to the device’s success. Affordable, high-resolution screens are key to creating an immersive experience at a cost that consumers can afford.
In other words, one of the big reasons virtual reality is on the near horizon is the advent of mobile and tablet technology.
Without a manufacturing infrastructure in place that caters to the smaller screens, any company interested in producing a VR headset would have needed to start from scratch with the screens. Now that this infrastructure is already in place, it’s just a matter of the technology getting to the right point (and price-point) for the system to become a reality.
2011年11月27日星期日
Honeywell True HEPA Air Filter Review
Raise your hand if you’re skeptical about Hepa filters? Since you can’t see what I’m doing, I’m literally raising my hand, or use to. That is until I had the chance to test out Honeywell’s True HEPA Compact Tower air purifier.
In terms of the gadgets we review it’s relatively unremarkable. It’s body is crafted from plastic, there is a dial on the top to control 3 fans speeds and the back flap opens up allowing you to change out the HEPA filters, which needs to happen once a year. Honeywell includes a carbon filter in the box that is designed to filter out odors and smells. Since my bedroom has a scented oil therapy thingee – the chicks dig it – I opted to not use this.
So why am I now a card carrying HEPA air filter fan? Before I tested out Honeywell’s True HEPA air filter I vacuumed my room once a week. And every week I collected a fair amount of dust. Now, keep in mind that I leaving my windows closed 90% of the year, if not more. Crazy, I know, but since I have a fairly strong allergy to mold I figure better to play it safe than not (plus I live in Santa Monica and it doesn’t get above 75 degrees even during the summer). After installing Honeywell’s True HEPA air filter and letting it run for a week’s time I could notice not only a reduction in dust on my nightstands and the edge of my LED TV, but even in the vacuum after completing a solid sweep. But it gets better than that. I also noticed that I now wake up feeling far less congested, which leads me to the only logical conclusion; the Honeywell Hepa filter actually does work to improve the air quality of a room.
In terms of effectiveness, my room is about 15×15 at the most and that doesn’t include my bathroom or closets. Nonetheless, it’s designed to work in room’s up to 300 sq feet, but since I can only attest to my room and my experience I can stay it’s effective. Throughout my testing I kept the fan at 1, which is the lowest setting, though on certain days, say after I had the windows open, I’d crank it to the highest setting, 3, and let it filter out all the toxins that had been collected in my room’s air. However, at this setting the fan can be a bit intrusive, especially if you watch TV or listen to music close by, but the lowest setting didn’t impede upon my movie watching experience.
So what more can I say. The Honeywell True HEPA works. It cleans the air, isn’t too loud and is easy to setup. It’s not the coolest looking of Hepafilters, but it’s not the worst.
In terms of the gadgets we review it’s relatively unremarkable. It’s body is crafted from plastic, there is a dial on the top to control 3 fans speeds and the back flap opens up allowing you to change out the HEPA filters, which needs to happen once a year. Honeywell includes a carbon filter in the box that is designed to filter out odors and smells. Since my bedroom has a scented oil therapy thingee – the chicks dig it – I opted to not use this.
So why am I now a card carrying HEPA air filter fan? Before I tested out Honeywell’s True HEPA air filter I vacuumed my room once a week. And every week I collected a fair amount of dust. Now, keep in mind that I leaving my windows closed 90% of the year, if not more. Crazy, I know, but since I have a fairly strong allergy to mold I figure better to play it safe than not (plus I live in Santa Monica and it doesn’t get above 75 degrees even during the summer). After installing Honeywell’s True HEPA air filter and letting it run for a week’s time I could notice not only a reduction in dust on my nightstands and the edge of my LED TV, but even in the vacuum after completing a solid sweep. But it gets better than that. I also noticed that I now wake up feeling far less congested, which leads me to the only logical conclusion; the Honeywell Hepa filter actually does work to improve the air quality of a room.
In terms of effectiveness, my room is about 15×15 at the most and that doesn’t include my bathroom or closets. Nonetheless, it’s designed to work in room’s up to 300 sq feet, but since I can only attest to my room and my experience I can stay it’s effective. Throughout my testing I kept the fan at 1, which is the lowest setting, though on certain days, say after I had the windows open, I’d crank it to the highest setting, 3, and let it filter out all the toxins that had been collected in my room’s air. However, at this setting the fan can be a bit intrusive, especially if you watch TV or listen to music close by, but the lowest setting didn’t impede upon my movie watching experience.
So what more can I say. The Honeywell True HEPA works. It cleans the air, isn’t too loud and is easy to setup. It’s not the coolest looking of Hepafilters, but it’s not the worst.
2011年10月18日星期二
Home Air Cleaners – The way Owning One Helps The Elderly
There’s a few things you can do, if you’re an elderly person, to be proactive about looking after your health. Everybody knows that when people age, their health starts to deteriorate. The elderly need to eat healthy food, and exercise like every other age group, but another thing that would be a benefit for them would be an air purifier. You will get to breathe healthier air when you use an air purifier in your house or room.
These are electric machines that take the harmful air particles and get rid of them or sometimes destroy them. Clean air at home is good for everyone, but especially for senior citizens. Older people are prone to complications, in addition to being more prone to getting ill. A part of this could be eliminated by having cleaner air, and removing many of the causes of the disease. You ought to be thinking of getting an air purifier, but before you rush out and buy one, talk with your healthcare provider. You have to be able to get the all the information you need from them, even if it’s unlikely that they’ll be experts on air purifiers.
Their endorsed air purifier may destroy bacteria as well as trapping it, and that could be useful information for you. Prior to buying you must ensure that you have identified the one best for your circumstances. It’s particularly important to get the best one if you are an allergy sufferer. You will have to do the research even if you’re not buying for yourself, but for your parents or any other elderly person. Several of the important details to bear in mind are the cost of the air purifiers, the quality you need, the sizes of the rooms, and whether they fit into a budget.
Remember also to talk to the healthcare providers for their recommendations. A large number of places offer discounts to the elderly, which will help offset the cost of the purifier you buy. According to what type you’re going to choose, you may want to search online for the best prices. Try home improvement stores, department stores, quite possibly electronic stores. There’s a place that has the air purifier that is going to clean your house just right. In case you are not able to get a discount, don’t let that stop you from getting the air purifier. The product is definitely worth even the full price.
Providing them with clean air to breathe will make the final years of the senior citizens whose welfare concerns us a lot more enjoyable. Quite possibly guests can benefit. The appropriate air purifier will be chosen by relating it with regard to the house or apartment where it will be used.
For particular fantastic hepa filter, inspect Air Purifier website for the dozens of advantages of having and running a air purifier.
These are electric machines that take the harmful air particles and get rid of them or sometimes destroy them. Clean air at home is good for everyone, but especially for senior citizens. Older people are prone to complications, in addition to being more prone to getting ill. A part of this could be eliminated by having cleaner air, and removing many of the causes of the disease. You ought to be thinking of getting an air purifier, but before you rush out and buy one, talk with your healthcare provider. You have to be able to get the all the information you need from them, even if it’s unlikely that they’ll be experts on air purifiers.
Their endorsed air purifier may destroy bacteria as well as trapping it, and that could be useful information for you. Prior to buying you must ensure that you have identified the one best for your circumstances. It’s particularly important to get the best one if you are an allergy sufferer. You will have to do the research even if you’re not buying for yourself, but for your parents or any other elderly person. Several of the important details to bear in mind are the cost of the air purifiers, the quality you need, the sizes of the rooms, and whether they fit into a budget.
Remember also to talk to the healthcare providers for their recommendations. A large number of places offer discounts to the elderly, which will help offset the cost of the purifier you buy. According to what type you’re going to choose, you may want to search online for the best prices. Try home improvement stores, department stores, quite possibly electronic stores. There’s a place that has the air purifier that is going to clean your house just right. In case you are not able to get a discount, don’t let that stop you from getting the air purifier. The product is definitely worth even the full price.
Providing them with clean air to breathe will make the final years of the senior citizens whose welfare concerns us a lot more enjoyable. Quite possibly guests can benefit. The appropriate air purifier will be chosen by relating it with regard to the house or apartment where it will be used.
For particular fantastic hepa filter, inspect Air Purifier website for the dozens of advantages of having and running a air purifier.
2011年9月29日星期四
Bisnis Pemurnian Air Makin Menggiurkan
Bisnis alat pemurnian air ternyata makin menarik. Hal ini dipicu oleh kebutuhan masyarakat yang semakin sadar dengan pentingnya air bersih dan baik untuk dikonsumsi.
Di saat yang sama, kualitas air di kota besar seperti Jakarta memang terus memburuk. Bagi pengusaha, persoalan ini justeru menjadi peluang bisnis. Salah satunya ditunjukkan Coway Co. Perusahaan asal Korea itu menggandeng PT Semangat Sejahtera Bersama untuk mendistribusikan produk pemurnian air (water purifier) merek Coway. Dengan investasi US$ 10 juta, keduanya membentuk PT Coway Indonesia dengan pembagian kepemilikan 51% Coway SSB 49%.
Hendra, Kepala Unit Bisnis Coway Indonesia berpendapat, bisnis pemurni air di Indonesia punya potensi tak kalah bagus dibandingkan negara Asia lainnya. Menurutnya, produk pemurnian air merek Coway dipakai lebih 50% warga Korea. Pun, setahun ini sudah mulai didistribusikan ke Amerika, Eropa, juga Asia.
Hendra bilang, potensi jualan alat pemurnian air di Indonesia tak kalah dari Malaysia dan Hongkong.
"Ini akan mengatasi berbagai problem kualitas air," papar Hendra.
Adapun konsep bisnis alat pemurnian air dengan sewa. Hendra bilang, tarif sewa mulai dari Rp 250.000- Rp 450.000 per bulan. Daya tampung maksimal air mencapai 11 liter dengan daya maksimal 300 watt.
Hendra mengatakan, alat ini cocok untuk keluarga yang setidaknya perlu 60 liter air saban hari. Tidak hanya untuk air minum, tetapi juga air untuk memasak.
"Setiap air mau habis, ada sensor supaya air disaring lagi, jadi alatnya tidak pernah kosong," jelas dia.
Coway menargetkan produknya terjual 1.500 unit hingga akhir tahun. Di awal ini Coway Indonesia membidik penghuni perumahan kawasan elite dan apartemen.
"Langsung difiltrasi dari keran, cocok sekali dengan mereka yang sibuk tapi memerlukan air bersih," terusnya.
Hendra bilang, masa sewa berlangsung 24 bulan. Jika sudah lima tahun, produk itu menjadi milik penyewa. Ia menambahkan, bahwa modal yang disiapkan sekaligus untuk membangun 5-6 kantor di Indonesia hingga akhir tahun. Ini diawali dengan pembukaan kantor cabang di Gading Serpong, Tangerang.
Tampaknya, kehadiran Coway bakal menemani pemain serupa, Advance. Bedanya, produk Advance diperdagangkan dengan cara dijual. Penjualan pemurni air merek Advance tumbuh 10%-15% tahun ini. Angkanya sekitar 700 - 800 unit per bulan. Adapun 55% penjualan datang dari Jakarta.
Apit Haripin, Chairman Advance, mengakui produk pemurnian air tak lagi menjadi milik kalangan menengah ke atas, tetapi juga kalangan menengah.
"Daya beli masyarakat menengah naik karena ekonomi kita membaik, jadi mereka sangat peduli untuk mencari alat agar konsumsi airnya juga bagus," terang Apit.
Saat ini Advance membanderol tiap unit produknya mulai Rp 4 juta sampai Rp 13 juta. Dia optimistis target pertumbuhan penjualan 15% tercapai tahun ini seiring pertumbuhan jumlah keluarga dan daya beli.
Di saat yang sama, kualitas air di kota besar seperti Jakarta memang terus memburuk. Bagi pengusaha, persoalan ini justeru menjadi peluang bisnis. Salah satunya ditunjukkan Coway Co. Perusahaan asal Korea itu menggandeng PT Semangat Sejahtera Bersama untuk mendistribusikan produk pemurnian air (water purifier) merek Coway. Dengan investasi US$ 10 juta, keduanya membentuk PT Coway Indonesia dengan pembagian kepemilikan 51% Coway SSB 49%.
Hendra, Kepala Unit Bisnis Coway Indonesia berpendapat, bisnis pemurni air di Indonesia punya potensi tak kalah bagus dibandingkan negara Asia lainnya. Menurutnya, produk pemurnian air merek Coway dipakai lebih 50% warga Korea. Pun, setahun ini sudah mulai didistribusikan ke Amerika, Eropa, juga Asia.
Hendra bilang, potensi jualan alat pemurnian air di Indonesia tak kalah dari Malaysia dan Hongkong.
"Ini akan mengatasi berbagai problem kualitas air," papar Hendra.
Adapun konsep bisnis alat pemurnian air dengan sewa. Hendra bilang, tarif sewa mulai dari Rp 250.000- Rp 450.000 per bulan. Daya tampung maksimal air mencapai 11 liter dengan daya maksimal 300 watt.
Hendra mengatakan, alat ini cocok untuk keluarga yang setidaknya perlu 60 liter air saban hari. Tidak hanya untuk air minum, tetapi juga air untuk memasak.
"Setiap air mau habis, ada sensor supaya air disaring lagi, jadi alatnya tidak pernah kosong," jelas dia.
Coway menargetkan produknya terjual 1.500 unit hingga akhir tahun. Di awal ini Coway Indonesia membidik penghuni perumahan kawasan elite dan apartemen.
"Langsung difiltrasi dari keran, cocok sekali dengan mereka yang sibuk tapi memerlukan air bersih," terusnya.
Hendra bilang, masa sewa berlangsung 24 bulan. Jika sudah lima tahun, produk itu menjadi milik penyewa. Ia menambahkan, bahwa modal yang disiapkan sekaligus untuk membangun 5-6 kantor di Indonesia hingga akhir tahun. Ini diawali dengan pembukaan kantor cabang di Gading Serpong, Tangerang.
Tampaknya, kehadiran Coway bakal menemani pemain serupa, Advance. Bedanya, produk Advance diperdagangkan dengan cara dijual. Penjualan pemurni air merek Advance tumbuh 10%-15% tahun ini. Angkanya sekitar 700 - 800 unit per bulan. Adapun 55% penjualan datang dari Jakarta.
Apit Haripin, Chairman Advance, mengakui produk pemurnian air tak lagi menjadi milik kalangan menengah ke atas, tetapi juga kalangan menengah.
"Daya beli masyarakat menengah naik karena ekonomi kita membaik, jadi mereka sangat peduli untuk mencari alat agar konsumsi airnya juga bagus," terang Apit.
Saat ini Advance membanderol tiap unit produknya mulai Rp 4 juta sampai Rp 13 juta. Dia optimistis target pertumbuhan penjualan 15% tercapai tahun ini seiring pertumbuhan jumlah keluarga dan daya beli.
2011年8月22日星期一
India Infoline News on Twitter
He ‘Ramky BIG Green Ganesha’ will be installed at Prasads Imax on 1st September, 2011 on the day of Ganesha Chaturthi.
Done across 14 Cities, where Ganesha festival is celebrated, namely Mumbai, Surat, Baroda, Rajkot, Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Sholapur, Goa, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Vizag, Chennai and Mysore, the Ramky BIG Green Ganesha Enviro Engineers Ltd is arguably the biggest initiative of this nature. As a socially responsible organization 92.7 BIG FM continuously introduces such environmental friendly initiatives in association with its partners who shares the same commitment on saving the environment.
Commenting on the launch, Gautham Reddy, MD- Ramky Group and Mr. Raman Nanda, Managing Director- Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd said “This is the fourth consecutive year for Green Ganesha and last year’s Ramky Big Green Ganesha received lot of accolades at the national level beside giving us another opportunity to bring together regulators, our customer and other stake-holders together. India’s largest Environment company, RAMKY this year too will be celebrating this with a message to save the environment. And we are proud to be associated with Big FM in carrying out a nationwide campaign of Green Ganesha, covering 14 cities with on ground activities and other 7 cities on Air”.
Commenting on BIG’s campaign 92.7 BIG FM’s RJ Shekar, said, “This is the 4th Year of BIG Green Ganesha. It brings us great pleasure to celebrate the festival of Ganpati in an eco-friendly way that will contribute to a cleaner and greener environment. Through this offering, we want to connect with the entire city and bring them together to make a difference through a simple act of paper contribution...”
Done across 14 Cities, where Ganesha festival is celebrated, namely Mumbai, Surat, Baroda, Rajkot, Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, Sholapur, Goa, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Vizag, Chennai and Mysore, the Ramky BIG Green Ganesha Enviro Engineers Ltd is arguably the biggest initiative of this nature. As a socially responsible organization 92.7 BIG FM continuously introduces such environmental friendly initiatives in association with its partners who shares the same commitment on saving the environment.
Commenting on the launch, Gautham Reddy, MD- Ramky Group and Mr. Raman Nanda, Managing Director- Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd said “This is the fourth consecutive year for Green Ganesha and last year’s Ramky Big Green Ganesha received lot of accolades at the national level beside giving us another opportunity to bring together regulators, our customer and other stake-holders together. India’s largest Environment company, RAMKY this year too will be celebrating this with a message to save the environment. And we are proud to be associated with Big FM in carrying out a nationwide campaign of Green Ganesha, covering 14 cities with on ground activities and other 7 cities on Air”.
Commenting on BIG’s campaign 92.7 BIG FM’s RJ Shekar, said, “This is the 4th Year of BIG Green Ganesha. It brings us great pleasure to celebrate the festival of Ganpati in an eco-friendly way that will contribute to a cleaner and greener environment. Through this offering, we want to connect with the entire city and bring them together to make a difference through a simple act of paper contribution...”
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