Sprint to unleash Samsung Epic 4G on A – Laguna Be

25.08.2010 at 7:25 am · Saved under Burberry

Set to go on sale August 31, the Epic 4G (which marks the first of Samsung’s Galaxy S-class Android phones with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard) will arrive with a $249 price tag, and that’s after signing a two-year Sprint contract and receiving your $100 mail-in rebate.

The QWERTY-less HTC Evo 4G, on the other hand, costs just $199 with a two-year contract and $100 mail-in rebate (assuming you can find one in stock, that is; the red-hot phone’s still sold out on Sprint’s website). Indeed, most of the major smartphones we’ve seen this summer have come with $199 two-year-contract price tags.

So, what are we talking about in terms of specs? First, the basics,Laguna Beach, starting with the Epic’s 4-inch Super AMOLED screen (same as on Samsung’s other Galaxy S handsets, like the Captivate and the Vibrant). In back, you’ll find a five-megapixel camera with autofocus, a flash, 720p video recording — and yes, video-chat fans, there’s a front-facing VGA for two-way video calls.

Under the hood, the 5.5-ounce, 0.56-inch-thick Epic (blame the slide-out QWERTY for the extra bulk) has a speedy 1GHz “Hummingbird” processor plus 512MB of system RAM for multitasking. Out of the box, the Epic will be running Android 2.1 — a bit disappointing, given that the just-released Motorola Droid 2 is shipping with Android 2.2 (good for features like Flash support, a souped-up Web browser, and improved Exchange support) already installed. Sprint says the Epic 4G will get an over-the-air update for Android 2.2 in the “coming months.”

Back on the plus side, the Epic boasts the same mobile hotspot features we’ve been seeing on the latest and greatest Android phones, good for sharing the handset’s data connection with up to five nearby Wi-Fi-enabled gadgets. Nice, but bear in mind that Sprint will charge you $30 a month extra for mobile hotspot privileges, and it’s also worth noting that the competing HTC Evo 4G will wirelessly share its data with up to eight Wi-Fi devices, rather than just five.

Speaking of data, the Epic 4G is (as its name implies) is the second smartphone to support Sprint’s budding, next-generation 4G WiMax data network, which delivers data speeds that peak at about 10Mbps — several times faster than what you’d typically get over a standard 3G data network, even when you consider that average, real-world 4G speeds hover around 4Mbps or so.

That’s the good news; the bad news is that Sprint’s 4G coverage is still pretty limited: just 48 markets for now (up from 35 when the Evo 4G launched in June; check here to see if your city is covered), with such major markets as New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, and Miami still waiting for 4G action. (Sprint promises it’ll have those cities covered before the year is out.) You’ll also have to pay a mandatory $10 a month “premium data” charge for the Epic, on top of your standard voice and data plan (bundles start at $69 a month), whether you live in a 4G coverage area or not. Ugh.

Other features on the Epic include 802.11n Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth, a 3.5mm headset jack, an accelerometer and digital compass for six-axis motion control, and (eventually) access to the upcoming Samsung Media Hub for video rentals and purchases.

Last but not least, here’s an Epic 4G promo video from Sprint for your viewing pleasure:

So, which of Sprint’s 4G phones do you like better: HTC’s Evo 4G, or the Samsung Epic 4G (which,ugg, by the way, you can reserve for pick-up at a Sprint store starting Friday)?

— Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

Follow me on Twitter!

The second 4G-ready Android smartphone for Sprint boasts a slide-out QWERTY keypad and a front-facing camera for video chat, but it lacks the latest version of Android; also, expect to pay a little more for Samsung’s new Epic 4G than you would for last June’s HTC Evo 4G.

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Newlyweds Megan Fox, Brian Austin Gr – Giorgio Arm

10.08.2010 at 4:05 pm · Saved under ugg

During a break, actress Jenna Dewan even got up to congratulate the two on their summer nuptials.

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Two months after tying the knot, Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green still have that “just married” glow.

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Before the show started, he sneaked a kiss.

The two had another reason to celebrate: Fox, 24,Giorgio Armani, won the award for Choice Hottie.

The two arrived at Sunday’s Teen Choice Awards in Universal City, Calif.,ugg, holding hands.

Says a witness, “They were very affectionate during the entire show. They were sitting very close together and his arm was around her.”

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90210′s AnnaLynne McCord Kim Kardashian Was Me -

02.08.2010 at 6:23 pm · Saved under Juicy Couture

VIDEO: Watch Kourtney blow up at Kim over Scott

Earlier in the week,ugg, Khloe blogged that she and Kim, 29, had a blast playing “exaggerated versions of ourselves,” despite feeling a little nervous about filming their cameo.

“The director kept saying, ‘Say that really mean, Kim!’ and she would be like,Juicy Couture swimwear, ‘Um, okay…’” McCord, 23, told UsMagazine.com at the CW Summer TCA Party in Beverly Hills on Wednesday. “Kim is not mean — she can’t be mean! She was really sweet…she got some good moments in there.”

“You never know when you have different personalities guest on the show…do they want a certain kind of food that we don’t offer, or do they want a certain thing done a certain way,” McCord says. “But the Kardashians, they were so nice…I love that they do things as a family. Khloe was hysterical!”

But the 90210 actress tells Us she wasn’t sure what to expect when the famous siblings showed up on set.

“AnnaLynne McCord was  sooo sweet — she really made it fun and easy for us,” Khloe, 25, wrote. “How gorgeous is she?”

AnnaLynne McCord says Kim Kardashian will be serving up plenty of attitude in 90210′s third season premiere — even if she isn’t a mean girl by nature.

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China’s AgBank offers room for – Inflatable Obstac

11.07.2010 at 5:56 pm · Saved under Christian Dior

AgBank — on track to set a record, 22.1-billion-US-dollar initial public offering ahead of its dual Hong Kong-Shanghai listing this week — was founded two years after Mao Zedong's 1949 communist revolution to lend money to China's poor farmers and distribute state money in rural areas.

"There are lots of opportunities. The government wants to boost loans in rural areas and that is AgBank's focus," he said.

But it also highlights what may be the lender's biggest challenge: to book ever-increasing profits while fulfilling its mandate to help bridge the yawning gap between urban and rural economic prosperity.

"It is generally considered the worst of the Big Four banks," Francis Lun, general manager of Hong Kong's Fulbright Securities, told AFP. "The only advantage is that there is lots of room to improve."

"There may be some slowdown in China's economic growth, but it won't be a hard landing," Jonathan Siu, an analyst at investment bank Core Pacific-Yamaichi in Hong Kong, told AFP.

AgBank's chairman echoed that sentiment, saying last month the company was poised to capitalise on Chinese government efforts to boost economic growth in the country's centre and west,Inflatable Obstacles, which have missed out on the export-driven boom enjoyed by coastal regions.

"The county area business will be one of our key profit drivers," Xiang said in June. "(AgBank) is well positioned to capitalise on China's next wave of growth."

But Xiang last year said AgBank's mission would make convincing investors of its money-making potential a tough sell, and made his job "three times as busy" as his counterparts at rival banks.

"Making money and fulfilling social responsibility is like balancing the co-existence of water and fire," he was quoted as saying by the Wall Street Journal in 2009.

"A strong management system can serve as an iron pot to transmit the heat from the fire to boil the water."

But the decades-old rural policy could fade into history after AgBank becomes a listed company with a new mandate to drive profits, Lun predicted.

"I think (AgBank) will junk that policy and become more like a commercial bank."

But heavy exposure to China's poverty-stricken interior meant its mission was frustrated by decades of chaotic policies, leaving the bank awash with bad debt and with a reputation as the weakest of China's major state lenders.

HONG KONG (AFP) – Agricultural Bank of China's huge share sale this week underscores investor confidence that the country's so-called economic miracle is set to continue.

Its bad debt ratio dropped from 4.32 percent in 2008 to 2.91 percent in 2009, although observers say that figure is far higher than its rivals, with the company earning more than a quarter of its revenue from rural banking.

The giant sale reflected a continuing shift in investor sentiment towards China's growth story, Royal Bank of Scotland said in a research note earlier.

Spearheading government policy has also left AgBank poorly equipped to meet strict capital requirements, observers said.

"And the banking sector should perform very well so there is potential for (AgBank) to have better earnings."

"European banks could only dream of raising this much capital at the moment," it said.

AgBank's Hong Kong sale — which drew almost a dozen heavyweight investors, including Qatar's sovereign investment fund, British bank Standard Chartered and Hong Kong's richest tycoon, Li Ka-shing — came amid choppy markets weighed down by concerns about the global economy.

AgBank, which has about 24,000 branches, mostly in China, and more than 320 million customers, has said it expects 2010 net profit to rise at least 28 percent year-on-year to 82.9 billion yuan (12.2 billion US dollars).

In the past decade, Beijing began shoring up the state-owned bank's position with AgBank chairman Xiang Junbo vowing last month to pound its balance sheet into shape — much like Industrial & Commercial Bank of China did after its record 21.9-billion-US-dollar listing in 2006.

The return on capital from rural loans is typically 20-30 percent less than from urban loans, as the size of the rural loans is generally smaller and monitoring costs higher than urban ones.

AgBank's mandate to focus the core of its business on rural lending is not necessarily a disadvantage,ugg, Siu added.

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Xiao Li said that she is through – ugg

10.07.2010 at 5:50 pm · Saved under Hollister

The cruising data demonstrated: 35% feminine white-collars thought that the purchase luxury goods are because of work laboriously use for gratuity; But 46% male take by the world famous brand’s quality guaranteed to the status symbol. Has over 90% white-collar crowd to purchase the luxury goods, including the close 16% white-collar to have 10 above luxury goods. 　
　“the man smokes the name brand cigarette, the woman is using the name brand cosmetics.”Some Public relation firm white-collar Li Li said that oneself have the first luxury goods are his uncle go to the American business trip belt to come Boss back to deliver her LV package. Now she purchases the luxury goods type had been already getting more and more, since childhood the small perfume to the big name brand satchel and the clothing, she does not discuss high to the luxury goods investment by the price, but looked that anything is most matches own. What is most important is: “buys these things is to a self-ability certificate, is also serves as contrast to own ability one.”Li Li believed that a woman can depend upon own ability to realize the desire, this has the luxury goods itself to be more satisfying. Now she depending on her fought had many name brand luxury goods, this was she before wanted not to dare to think that is one kind enjoys to her this. 　
　Investigates company’s data to demonstrate that the majority of male and female white-collar indicated during the investigation, the purchase luxury goods’ motive is stems from likes personally and regarding the life quality pursue. What is different, 35% feminine white-collars thought that the purchase luxury goods are because of work laboriously use for gratuity; But 46% male take by the world famous brand’s quality guaranteed to the Boss status symbol. Has over 90% white-collar crowd to purchase the luxury goods, including the close 16% white-collar to have 10 above luxury goods. 　　Although a LV package of price is too really high, but likes it and cares about regarding some US and the fashion female, still will choose many kinds of way purchases. “wanted to buy LV already to be very long, but could not start,ugg, thought that was very expensive.”Recently, some Insurance company staff member Xiao Li nipped tartar nearly one monthly salary to Boss purchase a section of LV package finally. But usually lives, she is not so wasteful, will be also economical in everyday spending, will not look like in other person of eyes such will be a shopping is crazy. 　
　Xiao Li said that she is through understood to the friend, had known this model of package’s price and her one month-long income is similar, although thinks expensively, but also in accepts in scope,Louis Vittion, therefore only then decides to purchase. For can buy a model of satisfied package, Xiao Li has done the massive preparatory work through the surfer, including understood that LV in the overseas price, how as well as does distinguish true and false LV and so on. After a comparison, her decide finally asks the friend to go overseas to help her for to buy, she favors that funds wrap in overseas buy the reduced Renminbi more than 4000 Yuan, at least compared to domestic cheap near half. It is known that purchases the luxury goods not only to be possible now the overseas purchasing, but can also through the traveling shopping, on-line commercial city and so on many kinds of channels, let the leeway which the consumer chooses be getting bigger and bigger.
 

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