Samsung Reclaim (M560)

Released for Sprint, the Samsung Reclaim is the first phone in the U.S. constructed from eco-friendly bio-plastic materials. The handset is a QWERTY phone made from 80 percent recyclable materials and free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), phthalates, and nearly free of brominated flame retardants (BFR) -- three materials commonly targeted on green electronics guidelines.

The outer packaging is made from 70 percent recycled materials and images, text on the box and phone warranty information are printed with soy-based ink. The charger consumes 12 times less power than the Energy Star standard for standby power consumption.


Read More ..

Microsoft Launches New Touchscreen Zune MP3

Computer giant Microsoft goes head-to-head with rival Apple today as it launches its new Zune HD.

The slimmed-down digital music player, which has a touchscreen and plays video, undercuts the iconic market leader by about £50. The 16 gigabyte Zune, which typically stores 4,000 songs, costs £133 compared with £176 for the iPod Touch.

And the 32 gigabyte version brings a cost saving of £66, at £176 compared with £242 for the iPod. The Zune HD is only available for pre-order in the United States and will not hit the shelves there until September 15.

It will be available in five colours and has a built-in radio receiver, Wi-Fi, and can store and play back 10 hours of video in high-definition through a connection to your TV. Users can stream and download music from Microsoft's Zune Marketplace.

It is the third generation of Microsoft’s MP3 player, which has so far failed to create waves for Apple, whose iPod boasts 70 per cent of the market.The company had no information on when the Zune HD would be available in the UK.

Apple has a press conference scheduled for September, when analysts expect it to announce a handful of new products. A new version of Apple’s operating system, 0S10.6 is being talked about, along with the addition of a camera to the iPod Touch.



Read More ..

Ford to Boost Production of Focus, Escape in 3Q

Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it will build more of its popular Focus and Escape vehicles this quarter to meet growing demand from the federal government’s Cash for Clunkers program. As a result, the automaker now expects to produce 495,000
vehicles in the third quarter, up 2 percent from its prior forecast of 485,000.

The increase includes more than 6,000 Focuses, a small car that ranks as the second most popular new vehicle purchased under the Clunkers program, and 3,500 Escape crossovers, among the top 10 most popular.

Ford said it plans to build the Focuses at the Wayne Assembly Plant in Michigan, where the company will add Saturday shifts and weekday overtime to boost production.

The company will build the Escapes at its Kansas City Assembly Plant, where employees have agreed to work two days during a planned shutdown week in August.



Read More ..

Stocks Rise Modestly after Jobs

The stock market is trying to reconcile some disappointing retail sales and jobs data with the Federal Reserve’s more upbeat view of the economy. The major indexes wavered in early trading Thursday before moving modestly higher, tentatively extending the big rally that followed the Fed’s comments on Wednesday.



Falling retail sales chilled hopes the recession will end sooner rather than later. The Commerce Department said sales fell 0.1 percent in July, significantly worse than the 0.7 percent increase that was expected by economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

Results would have been even worse had it not been for a boost in auto sales thanks to the Cash for Clunkers autos trade-in program. Excluding autos, retail sales fell 0.6 percent, compared with expectations for a gain of 0.1 percent.

Retail sales are considered a strong indicator of economic recovery because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of all economic activity.

“The data suggests the consumer sector is going to be hard to drag into the recovery,” said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets. “It is common wisdom that that is the case, but this is a reminder to the markets that the average American is still burdened by too much debt and too weak job prospects.”

A weekly report on unemployment also came in worse than projected. The Labor Department said the number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly to a seasonally adjusted 558,000, from 554,000 the previous week. Analysts were expecting new claims to drop to 545,000.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 13.00, or 0.1 percent, to 9,374.61 after rising 120 Wednesday in response to the Fed’s statement that the economy is “leveling out.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.40, or 0.3 percent, to 1,009.21, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 7.32, or 0.4 percent, to 2,006.04. About seven stocks rose for every six that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a very light 123.9 million shares.

In other trading, the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies slipped 0.01, or virtually unchanged, to 572.16. Gains in overseas markets and a better-than-expected earnings report from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. helped offset the day’s disappointing news.

Asian markets rose after the Fed’s statement, while European markets were boosted by new data showing recessions have ended in Germany and France. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart reported virtually flat second-quarter income compared with a year ago, but results exceeded Wall Street expectations.

The world’s largest retailer also raised the low end of its profit guidance, saying it expects shoppers to continue to be attracted by its low-priced items. Still, company officials warned that the economy will continue to remain difficult in the coming months.

In other economic data, a report showed businesses reduced inventories for a 10th straight month in June, although total business sales posted the first increase in nearly a year. An upgrade of Texas Instruments Inc.’s stock by Baird & Co. helped lift technology stocks.

Financials also moved mostly higher for a second straight day. Bond prices rose ahead of an auction of 30-year bonds. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.66 percent from 3.72 percent late Wednesday.



Read More ..

US Stocks End Higher on Jobs Report

he U.S. economy’s most vexing problem, unemployment, is showing the first signs of easing. And Wall Street is celebrating. Major stock indexes barreled higher by more than 1 percent Friday after the government said the nation’s unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in July for the first time in 15 months and that employers cut fewer jobs.

The Labor Department report handed investors the best evidence yet that the economy could be climbing out of the recession. Analysts widely consider unemployment the biggest obstacle to a recovery in the economy, which is driven by consumer spending.

The surprise figures injected new life in a monthlong rally and provided validation for traders who have been betting since March that the economy is healing. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 114 points to cap its fourth straight weekly gain. The Dow is at its highest level since early November.

The government said employers shed 247,000 jobs in July, the fewest in a year. Economists had expected 320,000 lost jobs. The unemployment rate dropped to 9.4 percent from 9.5 percent in June, rather than rising to 9.6 percent as forecast.

“It really gave the market the proof that it needed to see,” said Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial in Boston. The report is often the most anticipated bit of economic news each month on Wall Street and nervousness about what it would reveal held stocks to modest moves most of the week.

The exception came Monday when Ford Motor Co. said its monthly sales rose for the first time in nearly two years because the government’s cash for clunkers program was drawing customers. That, and good news about manufacturing, construction and banking, sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 index over 1,000 for the first time in nine months.

With the pop Friday, the S&P 500 index is up 14.9 percent in only four weeks and 49.4 percent from a 12-year low in early March. Still, some analysts say the gains have come too quickly and question whether an economic rebound can ever live up to the expectations investors are now setting.

“We’ve run very fast, very quickly,” said Marc Harris, co-head of global research for RBC Capital Markets in New York. “I think we’re due to take a breath.”

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow rose 113.81, or 1.2 percent, to 9,370.07. The broader S&P 500 index gained 13.40, or 1.3 percent, to 1,010.48, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 27.09, or 1.4 percent, to 2,000.25.

About 2,300 stocks rose on the New York Stock Exchange, while about 700 fell. Volume came to 1.5 billion shares, compared with 1.4 billion Thursday.



Read More ..

USD 9.99 TV Too Good to Be True

Few if any of the deals retailers have offered online during the recession have been as good as Best Buy Inc.'s sale price of $9.99 on a 52-inch TV Wednesday. But it quickly turned out the offer was too good to be true.

The electronics retailer said it will not honor the $9.99 price posted Wednesday morning on its Web site for a 52-inch Samsung flat-screen TV. By early afternoon, the TV was listed at $1,799.99, almost half off the original $3,399.99 price.

Bloggers and Twitterers lit up the Internet with posts about the offer, some insisting Best Buy must honor it, others making jokes.

Best Buy, based in Richfield, Minn., said it has corrected an online pricing error and will not honor the incorrect price. Orders made Wednesday morning at the incorrect price will be canceled and customers will receive refunds, the company said.

Best Buy did not immediately return a call for additional comment.Shares fell 27 cents to close at $36.50 Wednesday.



Read More ..

Few simple tips to raise your opportunities at the casino

Here we bring some tips that are meant to help you increase your chances at the online casinos. Read them thoroughly for they might help you to considerably benefit.

1. First of all, remember to learn the rules.

Proper knowledge of the game makes the gambler to win it at any difficulty. This is the movement towards the player's fortune. It is suggested that you'd never play the game you are not really familiar with. Different websites proffer test online gambles in order to introduce them to you. So, don't hesitate and take one your chance to get familiar with the games you would like to play at the casino. Ask any other online client to explain you the game in every detail - that will help you to play fast and win the game easily.

2. Don't drink alcohol while gambling.

Yes, this seems to be real that free drinks proffered at the casinos make the gamblers step into it. This is the main weapon at most of the casinos - provide free drinks to make players less concentrated on the gamble and play more and more. Your thinking capability and concentration reduces while you play and drink at the same time. So it is always best to not drink while you're gambling. Make your intellect and body completely focused on the gamble to make your victory categorical.

3. Don't make needless stakes.

Make a proper settlement to expend the strict sum of money while you are stepping ahead for playing. Take out the paper and pen or just notify the same in your thoughts - how much you need to expend the day you are planning to gamble. And yes, don't stray away from your settlement. Playing again and again could for certain empty your pockets and make you spend your money limitlessly. In case you win and some bonus is offered with other different winnings - save the money you've won. Don't waste and spend them for playing once again. Try to control the winnings for subsequent use.

4. Stay calm when you're playing.

This haughtiness and presumptuousness will make you want to play again and again without any sensible reason. If you're playing fast and winning fast as well, don't make yourself confident that next blackjack will be yours. You should gamble with your mind focused on the game, not your emotions being spilled out. The smart wins at all times.

5. Don't boast of your victory.

You may simply notice those unpleasant, nasty people sneaking around where there is lots of money. Don't enlarge on your winnings and on how good you are in a gamble. Tricks and tips are some of the aspects that you might tell as sort of guidance to some other player. But as well don't make it a habit to tell too much for the victory and how great are you in the gambling. You may win blackjack and lose baccarat as well. Don't leak that out in front of others. Each online casino has a paymaster to take care of your capital. Be certain to lock that fund before you leave the casino.

Surely, gambling is a fatal grave for many. People relying on the fortune might lose. So the tips provided above could surely make you understand some tricks and smart tips to win the game that will truly increase you chances to easily win the game.

Read More ..