Cross Selling @ Cross Roads

They say that the Copenhagen summit is a failure. Not sure how many years we take to cool this Earth and get back that beautiful world. I am not asking for a Pandora but just a cool place. Something came to my mind when I said cool. It is very cold outside these days and I was driving in a winter night back home and saw these guys selling something at the cross roads. I am always impressed with these cross road innovations which look very simple but very useful in our daily life. The 10 Rupee smooth cloth to clean your vehicle, The 50 rupees mosquito bat, The 10 Rupees not so bad ear buds are just a few to name. The latest addition to this market is the 10 Rupees winter protector (I named) which is damn cool to protect from the cool weather. I just couldn't stop myself to grab one. Never minded when I see the poorest of the poor also use a similar piece. After all, that is the beauty of it.

All the time we talk about cross selling and cost cutting. I think we should try to talk to these guys first. What say friends?

---- Yes that's me using winter protector.

The SMART battle begins

I was talking about Apple replacing Nokia's smart phone market in Asia and here comes Samsung's Bada and Nokia Linux OS mobile very soon. We already have RIM's blackberry, Nokia's symbian, Apple's iPhone, Windows mobile, Google's android, Palm and a few flop model OS.

I am trying to predict the leading OS of smart mobiles by 2012.

My first bet is on Apple iPhone and the second one.. is very difficult to pick. Knowing Microsoft's user base and Google's aggression, it could be Android or Microsoft might bounce back with an acquisition. Considering the Chrome OS which will be available to users by 2011, I bet on Android along with Apple for the top places. A few surprises might come up by that time with likes of DELL and LG investing huge on smart phone sector.

Will Apple replace Nokia smart phones by 2012 in Asia

Apple iPhone is a revolution in the mobile market. It has already captured the US and the UK with 55% and 74% (respectively) mobile internet users using iPhone or iPod. So an obvious eager for the rest of the world is to use the same device (follow the leaders) for mobile internet browsing. The two things that are stopping anyone in the world to try an Apple product is the product availability and the price. There is no doubt that the demand is high. Apple iPhone is introduced to Asian countries lately with very high price tag to it (Rupees 32000 in India = USD700). It is expected that in coming 2 to 3 years, the basic iPhone will be available for as less as USD99 in the Asian countries by which time people will get used to mobile internet and start looking for better products. A recent survey by AdMob ¹ clearly shows that Nokia is still the giant in the mobile market in Asia with about 90% share in smart phone sector in India, Indonesia and Philippines.

Though Nokia has huge market in these countries, the smart phones of Nokia are still struggling to survive (N70 is the only one that could survive for more than 3 years.)

With iPhones and iPods available for less, it is predictable that Nokia will lose its smart phone market to Apple very soon. If the trends follow the same, we might expect an Apple dominated mobile market by 2012.

1. http://metrics.admob.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/AdMob-Mobile-Metrics-Oct-09.pdf

VAT lagi

I always thought customer service is a very basic rule of any business. When I started paying bills on my own at the age of 23, the food courts used to bill only the prices mentioned in the menu. Then they started this service tax (about 5%). It has come to a point where I just shocked to pay 22.5% tax on my bill recently at a Pizzahut outlet. 10% service tax and 12.5% VAT.

VAT the hell?

I cant show my anger on the Govt which for making these rules and exceptions. My vote for anti Govt, never counted (so as yours).

So I decided not to go out and eat. I at least do not want to give away 23 Rupees for every 100 I spend.... Frnds.. don't even try to look at Pizzahut .. VAT lalegi..

P.S - “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so.” -Gandhi