Is The Dotcom Craze Back?

For a bubble-wary Internet observer, some of the indicators may seem ominously similar to the dotcom boom. But 2010 is no 1999


These are tough times for the US equity market. The fear of a double dip recession looms large. Investors are wary and quick to punish stocks for the slightest hint of shrinking margins or slowing growth rate. Nothing surprising; investors are still licking the wounds caused by the recent crisis.

Mobitisements ring in the future

What would you prefer: a knock at the door on a Sunday morning or a quiet SMS stating that you have been offered a discount voucher from your favourite shopping place? Inder Verma, 36, a banker, said that every time his cell phone beeps, he presumes it to be a promotional message and mostly never bothers to open the message. But now that he is searching for a home, he finds such messages with "dream house deals" quite useful.

Marketing via SMS is the first choice of small - and medium-sized organisations. But sectors such as banking, insurance, FMCG, real estate and other financial services leverage this medium the most, with the mantra, "Even a message that does not interest the consumer will, at the most, go unanswered but hardly unnoticed."

Get set for tablet revolution

The year 2011 will belong to tablet computers.

Looking behind, would you have guessed smartphones loaded with features including social media applications (Facebook, Twitter and the like) at under Rs 5,000 this under 18 months, you could be buying an iPad-like tablet computer - and my price guess is Rs. 10,000.

Mukesh's bet? Wireless boom redux

June 14, 2010

Aims at masses with broadband, sees subscribers jumping from 8 million to 130 million in four years

Says 3G-HSPA is an older, inefficient technology & each rival covers just 40% of population

Among services that it sees within the realm of 4G are high-speed wireless gaming, high quality video conferencing, cheap video-on-demand

Says it has paid just 6 US cents (Rs 2.90) per user per megahertz for acquiring spectrum compared with 32 cents paid on an average by the 3G winners