Kinshuk's Marketing Blog

The BlackBerry Torch 9800 has just been introduced onto the smartphone scene, offering a capacitive touchscreen, upgraded OS and a whole lot more to boot. The iPhone 4 has had its fair share of problems of late, but it’s still a stunning phone.

The question is, which should you invest in if you’re looking for a touchscreen maestro?

Screen:If we’re going to compare numbers, the iPhone 4’s screen wins hands down, with a much higher resolution 640×960 pixels, 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, but don’t rule out the BlackBerry Torch’s 360×480 pixel, 3.2-inch display.

Winner: Apple iPhone 4

Processor:The iPhone 4’s 1Ghz processor may pack a punch, but this doesn’t mean it runs faster than the BlackBerry Torch 9800’s. The latter may only pack in a 624MHz processor, but BlackBerry memory management is much better than the iPhone’s.

Winner: Blackberry torch 9800

Browser:The iPhone 4’s Safari browser was certainly the best on a smartphone up to now, but the BlackBerry Torch 9800’s WebKit browser beats the iPhone’s. The Blackberry browser also uses your text size preferences to resize text within the browser – ensuring it’s always the size you want it to be.

Winner: Blackberry torch 9800

Applications:Although BlackBerry will be introducing new APIs to developer, including access to the HTML 5-powered WebKit browser API and carrier billing, applications still come secondary to the App Store’s offering. Sure, BlackBerry offers more CRM apps for business users, but for the users , the iPhone easily conquers BlackBerry.

Winner: Apple iphone 4

Camera:Both the iPhone 4 and the BlackBerry Torch 9800 have seen a higher resolution camera installed compared to previous versions. Both 5-megapixels, the iPhone 4’s camera supports HD video recording, where the BlackBerry’s camera only shoots in SD.BlackBerrys have always had great image quality and the Torch 9800 is no different. However, the iPhone 4’s camera offers much crisper photos, and a secondary video camera aswell.

Winner: Apple iPhone 4

Battery life:The iPhone may have a higher capacity battery (1420mAh in comparison to the Torch’s 1300mAh), but it won’t keep going for days on end like the BlackBerry will.

Winner: BlackBerry Torch 9800

the final score is 3-3. Personally, i would chose the Blackberry Torch 9800 because i think it’s more professional and yes ofcourse it’s BBM.

Over the few months, the worlds biggest event has provided us with some amazing football, some painfully boring football, some laughs at the expense of the French and Italians and some good marketing talking points. Over $1.2 billion was spent on sponsorship alone, with billions more spent around the world on advertising and promotion, both from big and small businesses.

Here are some of the more notable marketing and advertising campaigns of the 2010 World Cup:

NIKE – write the Future add with massive viral success.

You have probably seen the ‘Write the Future’ advertisements plastered all over the TV and passed around throughout social networking platforms, featuring some of Nike’s high-profile athletes. Nike used ambush marketing tactics to create a promotion that was far more effective than that of Adidas, who are a major sponsor of the event. Nike’s Write the Future ad has had over 17 million plays on YouTube and produced over double the web searches during the world cup than Adidas.

Nike also made some clever updates to their products, introducing a colour range into their line of boots that stand out in contrast with the grass of the football pitches. They have also used a different colour boot for each type of player, creating a unique selling feature.

Castrol – making B2B Marketing Flashy

Motor oil brand Castrol using the world cup to promote to their B2B market. Using high-profile footballers such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Arsene Wenger, Castrol are attempting to make their brand fun and engaging while reinforcing the brand value. Their promotion has for the most part, been restricted to television ads and trade shows where they have dramatically stood out.

The Microsoft Photosynth is a very powerful software that  allows you to take a bunch of photos of the same scene or object and automagically stitch them all together into one big interactive 3D viewing experience that you can share with anyone on the web.

Photosynth is really two remarkable technical achievements in one product: a viewer for downloading and navigating complex visual spaces and a “synther” for creating them in the first place. Together they make something that seems impossible quite possible: reconstructing the 3D world from flat photographs.

Using techniques from the field of computer vision, Photosynth examines images for similarities to each other and uses that information to estimate the shape of the subject and the vantage point each photo was taken from. With this information, Photosynth recreates the space and use it as a canvas to display and navigate through the photos.Microsoft also uses a very powerful technology called the Seadragon which allows us to browse through   dozens of 5, 10, or 100  megapixel photos effortlessly, without fiddling with a bunch of thumbnails and waiting around for everything to load.

I LOVE MICROSOFT AND TECHNOLOGY.

One of the raging battles in the world of gaming – PS3 vs. Xbox 360 has reached new heights, as the manufacturers of both the consoles, Sony and Microsoft, are trying their best to get an edge over the other. So which gaming console is better, PS3 or Xbox 360?

Over the last decade or so, the gaming industry has reached new heights, with the major players in the market coming up with some of the most sophisticated video game  consoles ever seen. Two of the most popular gaming platforms today – PS3, the latest variant of PlayStation from Sony, and Xbox 360, Microsoft’s successor to Xbox, which are battling it out for the top slot in the world of gaming.

Playstation3: is the seventh-generation video game console launched by electronics giant Sony, in 2006. The console was an instant hit among various age groups owing to its high-definition optical disc format, which made gaming even more exciting. Playstation 3 provided a Blu-Ray disc as a storage medium, which simply meant more place to store data. At present, two variants of PS3 are available in the market – the PS3 120 GB Slim and PS3 250 GB Slim. With games like Assassin’s Creed, Prince of Persia, Devil May Cry and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare to its credit, PS3 is indeed one of the best gaming consoles you can lay your hands on.

Xbox 360: is the seventh-generation video game console launched by Microsoft, in 2005. One of the most amazing features of the Xbox 360 was Xbox Live, which played a crucial role in the tremendous success of the console the world over. Other than online gaming and downloading, Xbox 360 also facilitated TV shows and movie broadcasts. At present, two variants of the Xbox 360:  the Arcade and the Elite are available in the market. The rising popularity of the Xbox 360 can also be attributed to the amazing range of games it supports, including Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Mass Effect 2 and Resident Evil 5.

PS3 vs. Xbox 360 Comparison:

1. GPU and CPU Comparison: GPU and CPU are important components of the video game console. The Xenos GPU in Xbox 360 does have an edge over the RSX GPU in PS3, but then the Cell engine (microprocessor chip) in PS3, which is more powerful than the triple-core Xenon CPU in Xbox 360, comes to the rescue of PS3 by handling the workload at any given point of time.

2.Storage Comparison: PS3 uses a Blu-ray Disk as the primary storage medium, while Xbox 360 uses double layer DVDs as the primary storage medium. In PS3, armed with the Blu-ray Disk, approximately 54 gigs of data can be stored, while the same amounts to only 9 gigs in Xbox 360’s double layer DVDs. This gives PS3 an advantage in terms of storage capacity, which is quite important as both the consoles offer game downloads.

3.Price Comparison: Price is indeed one of the deciding factors when it comes to PS3 vs. Xbox 360 comparison. In case of Xbox 360, the Arcade version, sans the HDD, is priced at USD 199.99, making it the most inexpensive Xbox 360 console of the lot. If you are ready to shell out some more money, you can always opt for Xbox 360 Elite, which is the higher end version of Xbox 360 console. It has two variants – Xbox 360 Elite with 120 GB HDD, priced at USD 299.99, and Xbox 360 Elite with 250 GB HDD, priced at USD 399.99. On the other hand, PS3 also has two models based on the storage capacity. PS3 120 GB Slim is priced at USD 300, while PS3 250 GB Slim is priced at USD 400, which is almost similar to the price of Xbox 360 Elite models.

4.Online Gaming: Microsoft charges a stipulated monthly fee for online gaming, while PS3 offers online gaming for free. This means that the PS3, which is a bit costlier than Xbox 360 in terms of market price, is actually a better bet in the long term. This is one of the most important aspects of PS3, which tends to give it an edge in the PS3 and Xbox 360 comparison.

At the end of the day, it is pretty hard to determine which gaming console is better as both have their own positives and negatives. I would although choose the PS3 over the Xbox any day, as the Playstation3 is more user friendly, less expensive and more powerful compared to the Xbox 360.

Nokia the most popular and trusted brand in mobile handsets also has affordable and trendy phones in the Dual SIM phone category. If you have two numbers and do not want everybody to know then dual SIM phones are just what you want. The advantage of a Dual SIM phone is that it can house two cards in one handset. One can switch between the two cards easily and enjoy the benefits of more than one GSM service provider.

Nokia has recently introduced dual SIM phones of C series i.e. C1, C2 and C3. While C1 is a basic model, C2 and C3 have comparatively more features. C1 has a long battery life upto six weeks is a remarkable feature Nokia is known of. Though C1 is a dual SIM phone yet it does not allow the user to enjoy the benefit of both the cards at the same time.

The only way is to switch between two cards. Another and more convenient way is to avail the call divert feature wherein calls of one number can be diverted to the other. Colour display, FM Radio and a reasonable price makes Nokia C1 fit into any pocket.

Nokia C2 has advanced features like EDGE/GPRS, Bluetooth connectivity, VGA camera and music player. C2 has the advantage of using both the cards at the same time like receiving calls and texting while the phone is on. An expandable memory upto 32 GB and a long battery with a standby time up to 16.5 days makes it a good choice. Dual SIM phone loaded with so many features and an affordable price is surely going to give tough competition to other brands.

For all those who always want to stay connected with their friends and online communities no matter where they are, Nokia has introduced Nokia C3. Easy messaging features like QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi connection, speedy internet connectivity and a customizable home screen are some of the features of this new entrant.

Kopi Luwak coffee comes from the Indonesian island of Sumatra, very well known for its excellent coffee. Civets are also natives of the area, although locals refer them as luwaks. These little animals love eating ripe coffee cherry. While the beans are in the Civets stomach, it undergoes chemical treatments and fermentations. The bean finishes its journey through the digestive system, and exits. The still-intact beans are collected from the forest floor, and are cleaned, then roasted and ground just like any other coffee, but sold for over $300 for a pound of coffee.

What are the ‘justifications’ for it’s pricey price tag?

The resulting coffee is said to be very exotic. It has a rich, heavy flavor with hints of Caramel or Chocolate and the body is said to be syrupy and very smooth.

So, does it still justify the Price Tag?

Most people would definitely not be willing to pay $300 for a pound of animal facets (or so they would like to call it) and I seem to be one of them. The coffee is not worth the money and definitely not worth the experience of ‘enjoying’ such an unusual and rare delicacy. But because of the strange method of collecting, there isn’t much Kopi Luwak produced in the world. THANK GOD FOR THAT.

The Vertu mobile phones are famous world wide for their designs, hi-features, style, and engraving of precious stones. These sets are known for their elegance and sophistication. The high quality of Vertu phone have made them very expensive and only few high society people can think of buying such phones. There are different models of Vertu mobile phones like Vertu Constellation, Vertu Ferrari etc available in the market. These Vertu Ferrari Mobile phones are just similar to original vertu cell phone. They have same appearance and size, which make them look like the original phones. It would not be possible for anybody to differentiate cell phone with original mobile phones easily.

The basic difference between original Vertu luxury phone and the Vertu Ferrari is the cost.  The Vertu Ferrari model has the appearance of sports car and comes with a very expensive price tag, to that compared to the original Vertu.But due to its appearance of sports car, this model has become very popular among the car lovers. Vertu Ferrari is designed on the basis of original Vertu model. It is made up of titanium and laced with original leather. The keypad of this set has special feature of illumination. It can be said that Vertu Ferrari has power and energy of lovely sports car.

The usage of very high quality material, minute technical engineering and superior design are the inherent features of Vertu Ferrari phones. The same precision which is required for manufacturing luxury sports car has been applied to make this model the most extraordinary model. The other important feature this phone carries is scratch proof body and easy functionality. This is an ideal phone for businessmen. The Vertu Ferrari is a tri-band phone having in-build 2MP digital camera, Bluetooth functionality with other special features like currency converter, different language voice tag, world time, MP3 music and MP4 video player. It carries similar themes and ringtones that are featured in original Vertu Ferrari.

The launch of EA sport’s new football game – FIFA 11 in September 2010, made sales worth £28.93m, Second best ever day one UK sales and thanked retail for the success. The revenue made from the first week sales is in itself, more then the total value of the UK video games market in any single week so far in 2010 – including weeks that saw massive releases such as Halo Reach and Red Dead Redemption hit retail. FIFA 11 also enjoyed the second biggest 24-hour launch sell-through (684,602 units) in UK history, making it second only to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (1.23m units).

According to UK marketing director Stuart Lang “FIFA 11 is the most critically and commercially successful football launch ever and that’s something the whole studio team in Vancouver, the EA publishing organization and our retail partners can be immensely proud of.”

FIFA 11 had an exceptional Marketing strategy who’s main objective was to bring all football fans into the FIFA franchise. The FIFA 11 adverts were highly popular watched by million of football fans.

EA’s main focus was on long-term engagement, which meant understanding how they could continually improve and stay ahead of the game to ensure they deliver the essential interactive football product and service that every football fan wanted to participate in.

Zara is a Spanish clothing store that has an exceptional marketing strategy, which has made them both very successful and popular. Zara has been able to respond to the continuously flickering customer demands very successfully as they do not outsource their manufacturing.  Zara’s Unique selling point is to create the latest fashion trends within a very short time span, which hit the sale floor very quickly and last for a short time span as-well.

Zara is said to have the most unique marketing strategy: its policy of zero advertising, the company prefers to invest the revenues in opening new stores instead.

Personally, i think Zara’s Marketing strategy is very effective because of its:

• affordable prices
• its unique response to market demands – because products move so quickly through Zara Stores, customers feel the pressure to buy the product as soon as possible, in order for them not to phase out.

Singha Corporation, the manufacturer of Singha and Leo beers (Thailand) last month announced an 8-million, four year sponsorship deal with Chelsea FC as part of the company’s strategy to grow its international business. The company had earlier signed a 6.3 million, three-year sponsorship contract with Manchester United, also in the English Premier League.

Singha Corporation’s main objective is to boost and secure their presence in the international markets, especially in Europe by sponsoring two of the biggest football clubs in Europe. Singha Corporation also want to reduce the contribution from the domestic market, which is now at about 95% of the company’s total sales, to 60% within the next three years by securing sales in the international market.

I, personally could see this happening as Singha position’s itself as the beer for people who love football, and considering the fact that people all over Europe have a genuine passion for beer. So, therefore in a way the football crazy fans would easily relate to Singha’s target market.