SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 BLITZ MAY PROMPT APPLE RETHINK

SAN FRANCISCO, Fri Mar 15, 2013 - Samsung’s newest, feature-packed Galaxy S4 may put pressure on Apple Inc to accelerate its pace of smartphone design and venture into cheaper devices – both departures from usual practice.

The latest Galaxy, unwrapped with much fanfare in New York on Thursday, out-does the iPhone in most technical aspects. But the challenges it encapsulates run deeper than just a simple specifications comparison.

“It would be overstatement to say Apple is far behind,” Charles Golvin, analyst with Forrester, said, but it does need to note the quickening pace of competitive devices being released.

“If anything, what Apple needs to respond to is the cadence of their own releases, probably a completely new design every two years and a sort of speed bump every year is not an adequate cadence for Apple to remain at the forefront of smartphone innovation today.”

Samsung’s apparent ability to go toe-to-toe with Apple on cutting-edge smartphones may prompt the US titan to finally make its own assault on the lower-end of the market that it has famously stayed away from – not least to get into untapped markets like China and India.

Many analysts now say Apple has to respond in force to Samsung and other rivals that are grabbing attention. Much of Wall Street is now looking ahead to the next iPhone, but expectations are muted.

Once the darling of Wall Street, Apple has in six months seen its shares fall 30 percent from a high of $705. Its Maps software was panned for inaccuracies; its once-reliable financial results, that rarely failed to surpass Wall Street estimates, missed analysts’ expectations.

IN A RUT

Apple appears stuck in an iPhone product cycle, with a new phone typically launched in the second half. In past years, the iPhone has gotten a complete redesign only every two years.

Brian White, analyst with Topeka Capital Markets, who views the Samsung Galaxy S4 as a refresh and “not a game changer,” said smartphone technology is now improving so fast that timetables put Apple at a disadvantage.

More importantly, White said, Apple needs to broaden its portfolio and play in more smartphone categories as the high-end market could soon be saturated, and get into new categories such as the oft-rumored television or a smart watch.

“They have all the components of the magic potion, which is the hardware-software ecosystem,” he said. “All they need to do is take that potion and put it in a different segment of the iPhone market.”

While many on Wall Street believe the quickest way to penetrate fast-growing markets like India and China is a cheaper iPhone, the risk is that a cheap iPhone would cannibalize demand for the premium version and eat into Apple’s peerless margins.

Apple’s vice-like grip on its ecosystem – with the closely managed app store and its seamless integration with the hardware – is still seen as its biggest strength, one that Samsung is trying to emulate with a larger investment in software and connectivity. The Korean giant is also emphasizing its own mobile “Samsung Hub” rather than the Google Play store that most other Android adopters point to.

The iPhone has seen its sales increase to 125 million in fiscal 2012 from 40 million in fiscal 2010. But in 2012, Samsung became the No.1 in the global smartphone market with 30.3 percent share followed by Apple with 19 percent share.

Samsung’s rapid rise is partly helped by the fact that it bombards the market with close to 40 versions tweaked for regional and consumer tastes, from high-end to cheaper models.

Samsung’s momentum is a major issue for Apple, Ben Reitzes, analyst with Barclays, who is expecting Apple to launch a lower-end iPhone globally this summer.

Apple declined to comment on Friday. But a day before Samsung’s launch, marketing chief Phil Schiller attacked Google’s Android operating system, saying that the majority of its users were stuck on older versions. He also said Apple’s internal research showed four times as many consumers were switching to iOS from Android than vice versa.

1st Test: Ashraful, Rahim break records for Bangladesh

GALLE: Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahim smashed impressive centuries in a record stand as Bangladesh dominated the third day of the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle yesterday.

Ashraful hit an unbeaten 189 not out, the highest by a Bangladesh cricketer in Tests, on his comeback and Rahim made a career-best 152 not out as the tourists posted 438 for four in their first-innings at stumps in reply to Sri Lanka’s 570 for four declared.

Their 261-run unbroken stand between the duo was Bangladesh’s highest for any wicket in Tests, the previous best being 200 runs for the second wicket between Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique against India in Dhaka in 2010. Bangladesh also surpassed their previous highest total of 413 against Sri Lanka in Tests.

The tourists now trail by 132 runs with six wickets in hand.

The 28-year-old Ashraful hit one six and 20 fours in his sixth Test hundred, and the fifth against Sri Lanka, while Rahim, 24, smashed one six and 18 fours in his second Test century.

“We needed a partnership and I had one with Mushfiq,” said Ashraful. “The wicket was very nice and I believed if I don’t make any mistake I won’t be out.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2013.

Tour of South Africa: Pakistan tackle Proteas in first ODI today

A five-match series against Pakistan, starting at Chevrolet Park today, marks a change of focus for the Proteas, who have slipped to fourth place in the rankings for the 50-over format. Pakistan are sixth on a tightly-bunched table.

Kirsten said South Africa could play as many as 20 One-Day Internationals (ODI) before their next Test series, against Pakistan in the UAE in October and November.

“It’s nice to have an extended period of ODIs,” he said. “This is an important period for the ODI team.”

Of immediate concern for South Africa is the ICC Champions Trophy in England in June, the team’s next major event after the Pakistan series.

The country’s consistent failure to win big tournaments is one of the issues that Kirsten has pledged to address.

Although South Africa have a less than stellar one-day record of 10 wins and eight losses under Kirsten, the coach is not over-concerned because the international schedule has dictated an emphasis on five-day cricket.

“We have had a lot of Test cricket,” he said.

Nor was he concerned about a lop-sided 95-run defeat in a Twenty20 international at Centurion last Sunday, which he dismissed as a ‘one-off’ game, irrelevant to the one-day challenge.

South Africa were beaten 2-1 at home by New Zealand in their most recent one-day series after winning both Tests against the Black Caps by an innings.

Pakistan shape up as a bigger threat with players such as Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers, Kamran and Umar – all of whom missed their side’s recent 3-0 Test series defeat – adding experience and skill to the squad.

The Pakistanis seem to have most of their bases covered, with a mix of quick-scoring batsmen and a well-balanced bowling attack, while the fielding in the Twenty20 match was of a high standard.

South Africa, though, are likely to be a more organised team than that which lost to New Zealand – and a great deal stronger than the T20 side – with stars such as Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Test captain Graeme Smith returning to the squad.

Steyn will be rested for the first match, though, and Morkel is doubtful because of a hamstring injury.

Leading all-rounder Jacques Kallis will not be in action as he is being rested as part of a programme to extend the career of the 37-year-old.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2013.

Rookie Rutherford puts New Zealand on top

DUNEDIN: A superb 171 on debut from Hamish Rutherford steered New Zealand to a commanding first innings lead over England on the third day of the opening Test at University Oval on Friday.

Rutherford, 23, posted the seventh highest debut in Test history as he carved up the England attack, exceeding the tourists’ total of 167 single handedly as New Zealand opened up a 235 innings lead.

The Black Caps were 402 for seven when rain halted play late in the day, with Brendon McCullum unbeaten on 44 and Bruce Martin 17 not out.

While a James Anderson-inspired England improved after a batting performance that Ian Botham said was one of the worst he had ever witnessed, the Black Caps face the frustrating prospect the weather will save the tourists’ blushes.

With the entire first day washed out, Friday’s interruption cost another 32 overs, leaving the Black Caps racing against time to use their advantage to rack up a rare win over the world’s second-ranked Test team.

Starting the day at 131 without loss, the New Zealanders piled on the pain for England as Rutherford nervelessly added 94 to his overnight total of 77, including a 158-run opening partnership with Peter Fulton (55).

On the way, he became only the ninth New Zealander to reach a century on debut, recording the best first-up score since South African Jacques Rudolph’s 222 against Bangladesh in 2003.

It was the seventh highest debut in 136 years of Test cricket, bettered among New Zealanders only by Mathew Sinclair’s 214 against the West Indies in Wellington in 1999.

“It won’t sink in until I get home and have a wee lie down,” said Rutherford, the son of former New Zealand captain Ken.

“There was a lot of relief, I suppose. Obviously it’s very special to do it here in front of my home fans and family and friends.”

He said he adopted a simple approach to the innings, which saw him score 22 fours and three sixes.

“You just duck and weave and… try and hit as many as you can in between,” he said.

He finally departed after 340 minutes, when Anderson took the new ball and Rutherford mistimed his response, popping his first dab at it up to a grateful Chris Woakes.

Rutherford’s departure led to a wobble in New Zealand’s middle order, as Anderson exploited the new ball to dismiss Ross Taylor for 31 and Dean Brownlie for 27, with Stuart Broad also chipping in to clean bowl BJ Watling for a duck.

Anderson ended the day with figures of four for 108, with Broad taking two for 89, while Steve Finn (none for 102) and Monty Panesar (one for 83) both proved expensive in an attack sorely missing injured spinner Graeme Swann.

Black Caps captain McCullum, who relinquished his opening spot to come in down the order, went on the attack in the final session with Tim Southee, who scored a quickfire 25 off 29 balls before Broad broke their 44-run partnership.

McCullum, carefully working the strike with the tail-enders, was extending New Zealand’s lead in typically belligerent fashion before rain stopped play almost two hours before stumps were due to be called.

Courtesy: - Dawn News

1st Test: Sangakkara feasts on Bangladesh attack

GALLE: Kumar Sangakkara struck his 31st Test century to equal the Sri Lanka record held by Mahela Jayawardene as the hosts reached 361 for three on the first day of the first Test against Bangladesh yesterday.

Sangakkara smashed the hapless Bangladesh attack to all parts before he departed for 142 after he was caught by Jahurul Islam in the covers off Sohag Gazi.

On a flat track, Bangladesh took the second new ball in the 81st over but bowled only four more before rain brought an early end to the day.

With Lahiru Thirimanne, who scored his third test half-century, Sangakkara put on 124 for the third wicket.

Bangladesh’s only success in the afternoon session was the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne (41).

Karunaratne had earlier left the field when on 15 after he tried to pull a delivery from Shahadat Hossain and took a blow on his left elbow.

“Dimuth suffered from dizziness and double vision and was forced to retire,” Sri Lanka manager Michael de Zoysa told reporters.

Karunaratne’s opening partner Tillakaratne Dilshan had Sri Lanka off to a fast start after Angelo Mathews had won the toss for the home side on his test debut as captain.

Sri Lanka will go into the second day hoping to extend their advanage in the match.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2013.

HYPER-HYBRID LAFERRARI COULD REDEFINE GREEN CARS

Ferrari’s first-ever hybrid “looks terrific”, said Tata, one of India’s wealthiest businessmen and a close friend of Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. But will he buy one?

“I don’t have the money,” Tata joked.

The issue is moot: every one of the 499 LaFerraris slated for production is already spoken for. Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Ferrari’s parent company Fiat, says he has reserved one of them.

The LaFerrari is perhaps the most electrifying debut at this year’s Geneva show, and not only because of its sleek carbon-fibre body or its top speed of more than 350 kilometres per hour (km/h).

It is one of a new breed of hyper-hybrid sports cars, combining powerful gasoline engines with electric motors.

But why would Ferrari – so famous for its prancing pony badge on thoroughbred gas-guzzling supercars – install a hybrid powertrain in a performance car?

“Two reasons,” says Di Montezemolo. “The first is that we always aim to improve our driving experience. The second is that we need to meet CO2 emission standards.” The LaFerrari joins an elite fraternity that includes

Volkswagen’s Porsche and Formula One stalwart McLaren, which on Tuesday unveiled the production version of its new P1 sports car.

Courtesy: - Spider

FACEBOOK NEWS FEED BECOMES PERSONAL NEWSPAPER

Facebook began Thursday transforming the stream of updates from friends at homepages into a “personalized newspaper”, with news ranging from the personal to the global.

The News Feed on homepages at the leading social network was revamped to get rid of clutter and present “bright, beautiful” stories, such as insights from friends or trending news of the day.

“I think there is a special place in the world for this sort of personalized newspaper,” Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said when introducing the overhauled News Feed. “It should have a front page and top news section or let you drill down into any topic you want.”

Facebook is rolling out the new News Feed “very slowly” at its website reached by desktop or laptop, and will begin adding it to smartphone and tablet applications in the coming weeks.

Each News Feed will automatically be tuned to the interests of individual Facebook users, according to technical lead Chris Struhar.

Pictures in the feed will be gleaned from friends’ posts or online pages people have indicated they “like”.

If a Facebook user follows pages from CNN or other professional media organizations, top shared or trending stories are displayed.

Music or film lovers should see News Feeds touting fresh developments regarding bands, stars, movies, songs or other related subjects.

Struhar told AFP that “we hope you get all you need” without having to leave Facebook to seek stories at websites such as Google News or Yahoo! News.

Courtesy: - Spider

PCB denied the report of rift between Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah ul Haq

Naveed Akram Cheema - The Manager of PCT said the reports were part of a ‘negative campaign’ to dent Pakistan’s confidence ahead of its ODI series against South Africa.

“It is a part of negative propaganda against the team and its members which aims at demoralizing its confidence ahead of the ODI series after its success in the T20 match,” 

“The team is fully united and there is no rift between Hafeez or Misbah or any other player and all the players are looking to the one-day series with renewed zeal,” he added.

Courtesy: - Dawn News

Clash Between Misbah and Hafeez

Serious Clash between Hafeez and Misbah before the 1st ODI against SA. Hafeez not ready to play
one down, Misbah wants to open the innings with Kamran. Whatmore and the rest of tour selection
committee give preference to Hafeez's instructions. Hafeez doesn't agree with Misbah on batting order issue.

Misbah is out of form nowadays and in present conditions, if he wants to open the innings, the its ridiculous thinking. We all know that he is hated for his slow batting style and known as "Tuk Tuk". The former players are advising the players to play aggressively, but if he start the innings, then it seems to be difficult to play aggressively because he can't play with such aggressiveness that we are talking about.

“They wasted the chance to win after creating good opportunities,” Mohsin told The Express Tribune after facing whitewash against South Africa in Test Series. 

I think, Misbah should calmly retire from ODIs now without any hesitation and with honour after the series. Hafeez or Afridi should replace him as captain of Pakistan Cricket Team in ODI.

Wasim Akram made me better, says Shami

Indian bowler Shami Ahmed, who performed admirably against Pakistan in Delhi, has given credit to Wasim Akram for his success, according to cricbuzz.com. The 22-year-old from Bengal made a promising debut against Pakistan in the third and final ODI at the Ferozeshah Kotla on Sunday. “The small things that he’s taught me have made me a better bowler,” said Shami of the Pakistani legend. “For example, bowling with the old ball, reversing it and maintaining it, which line to bowl when you’re trying to reverse-swing the ball. He taught me a lot when it comes to using the white ball.”

Published in The Express Tribune

Kamran Akmal is hopeful of putting up a good show for his team

Following their humiliating whitewash in the Test series against South Africa, Pakistan bounced back to outclass the hosts by 95 runs in the second Twenty20 (T20) after the first fixture was washed out and clinched the series. The ODI series will begin with the first tie at Bloemfontein on March 10.

Seasoned Kamran, who has played 143 ODIs for Pakistan, said the team has the potential to do well against the tough home side in the format.

“I am hopeful the team will show a similar display (to that of T20),” said the wicket-keeper. “In South Africa, pitches favour both the bowlers and batsmen.

“The batsmen particularly have a good chance of doing well here. The players just need to play with a positive frame of mind; we are looking forward to repeating our T20 performance in the ODIs.”

The 31-year old has over 400 victims in all formats, but is no more an automatic choice for the team owing to the rise of wicket-keepers like Sarfraz Ahmed and younger brother Adnan Akmal.

Kamran said he never felt undue pressure for retaining his place in the team due to the growing competition.

“I just try to give my best for my team like the others do. I am looking forward to do well for my team in the series.”

‘Batsmen need to be aggressive’

Meanwhile, former pacer Jalaluddin said Pakistan must come out of their Test whitewash disappointment and focus on doing well in the upcoming series.

“The batsmen will be required to play attacking cricket,” said the former fast-bowler, who recorded the first hat-trick in ODIs.

He added both the teams have equal chances of winning the series.

“The return of Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers has boosted the team’s confidence. We have Saeed Ajmal in bowling while Mohammad Hafeez could also play a vital role.”

Pakistan snatch close win in warmup

Meanwhile, Pakistan secured a thrilling one-wicket win in the final over against a South African Invitation XI in the only warmup match at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley on Wednesday.

Abdur Rehman (35*) and Junaid Khan (nine not out) put on an unbeaten 28 for the final wicket to steer the team to victory.

Earlier, Invitation made 266 for eight in their 50 overs, with Quinton de Kock being the top scorer with 65.

Captain Stephen Cook (34) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld (36) were the other main scorers. Pakistan spinners Shoaib Malik and Abdur Rehman took a brace each.

None of the Pakistan batsmen reached fifty, with Imran Farhat (40) and Kamran Akmal (47) the most successful batsmen, while fast bowler Hardus Viljoen and leg-spinner Imran Tahir took three wickets apiece.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2013.

Indian Premier League team Sunrisers Hyderabad have roped in legendary Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis as its bowling coach for the upcoming Indian Premier League in April-May, The Times of India reported on Friday.

“One of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, Waqar Younis will be the bowling coach for SunRisers Hyderabad!” the team said in a tweet.

“Yes, I have decided to join the Sunrisers Hyderabad. I am very happy to join the IPL and I hope my experience will help them,” Younis was quoted as saying.

Younis has previously coached the Pakistan national team as national coach and bowling coach till mid-2011.

Sunrisers, who took over the Hyderabad franchise from Deccan, have Tom Moody as their head coach and Kris Srikkanth as their team mentor.

Younis’ wards in the Hyderabad team will include South Africa’s Dale Steyn, Ishant Sharma, Clint McKay and Sudeep Tyagi.

The 41-year-old picked 373 wickets in 87 Tests. His ODIs tally read 416 in 262 matches.

Courtesy: - Express Tribune

World Record By PAKISTAN CRICKET TEAM on 3rd March 2013

Did You Know That!

World Record: Pakistan bowled out South Africa in just 74 balls (12.2 overs) in the Twenty20 that was played on Sunday at Centurion.

This is actually a World Record. 74 is least amount of deliveries a team has taken to make the opposition all out, not only in Twenty20s but in 136 years of International Cricket. Previous best was: England bowled out South Africa in 75 balls at Birmingham 1924.