phone trade business

Holiday Sales Predicted to Increase 4%
DMNews reports that the National Retail Federation NRF is predicting holiday sales to increase by 4% this year to $447.5 billion. Technology will once again be a hot item. Even fashion is getting more high tech this year according to the NRF.In the fashion and apparel categories, expect to see evening wear and diamonds driving sales. In addition, tailored denim products - across mens, womens and childrens wear - will be a hot item. Womens boots also will help drive sales this holiday season, with a focus on three-quarter length boots rather than knee length.Interestingly, fashion will be getting more high tech this season.Technology is having an impact on fashion, said Dan Butler, VP of retail operations and merchandising at the National Retail Federation. Whether its sweaters or vests designed to hold handheld accessories and iPods, or handbags, which are designed for these devices, we are going to see a lot more of these kinds of products this season.IPod and cell phone accessories will be popular tickets this year, including a new breed of accessories designed to hold these items in the home. Expect to see more widescreen televisions under the tree this year, along with widescreen computer monitors, as the prices of these products have come down.Online sales - which have been rising year after year - will surely grow again this year.Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com

Navteqs sale faces a detour - Chicago Tribune
PhoneMag.comNavteq's sale faces a detourChicago Tribune - Mar 29, 2008By Wailin Wong | Tribune reporter March 29, 2008 European antitrust regulators have raised concerns over the acquisition of Chicago-based digital map provider Navteq by Finnish cell phone-maker Nokia, delaying an $8.1 billion deal that is poised to ...Nokia's Navteq Acquisition Faces In-Depth EU Probe Update4 BloombergEU Opens Antitrust Probe Of Nokia-Navteq Deal Wall Street JournalCNNMoney.com - Reuters - The Associated Press - Forbesall 155 news articles

China Mobile Announces Commercial Deployment of TD-SCDMA Technology - FOXBusiness
Boston GlobeChina Mobile Announces Commercial Deployment of TD-SCDMA TechnologyFOXBusiness - 39 minutes agoSHANGHAI, China, March 28, 2008 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. Nasdaq: SPRD, one of China's leading wireless baseband chipset providers, today reports that China Mobile CMCC has announced commercial ...China Mobile to start TD-SCDMA 3G commercial trials from April 1 ... ForbesChina to Launch Trial of 3G Phones FOXNewsAHN - International Herald Tribune - PhoneMag.comall 113 news articles

Apple Takes a Drubbing
Apple AAPL has been taking a beating on Wall Street today. The stock is down over 10%. The reason isnt the companys holiday performance but the possibility of a weaker future. Forbes is asking if one bad Apple could spoil the bunch - meaning could Apple weakness spill over into other tech stocks. Its hard to see gadgets having as good a year this year as they did last year if we are heading into a recession.To some extent, its a case of one bad Apple AAPL spoiling the bunch. Steve Jobs & Co. is seen as the most innovative, growth-producing group in tech. And if the U.S. consumers economic troubles are starting to rattle mighty Apple, high fliers like Research In Motion RIMM and Google GOOG might not be immune, either.Indeed, Apples holiday performance showed signs that the companys not unstoppable in 2008. In particular, Apples cautious outlook, weakness in U.S. iPod growth and the unpredictability of iPhone sales left Wall Streets pessimists plenty of reason to doubt. And in this jittery market, those pessimists have a lot of power.First, a recap of Apples good news - and there was plenty of it. Apple turned in revenue of $9.6 billion and profit of $1.6 billion for the holiday quarter, blowing past the average analyst estimate. The company shipped a record 2.3 million Intel INTC-based Macs during the period, and actually sold as many iPhones as computers. In the process Apple generated $2.7 billion in cash, bringing its war chest to $18.4 billion.But there was troubling news, too. On the conference call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer admitted that iPod sales merely met the companys expectations, rather than exceeding them. Part of the reason, he said, was that U.S. iPod sales weakened in December - it took overseas sales to make up the difference. In the U.S., in the gift-buying season, we saw a slightly different curve, he said. That was made up for in our very, very good growth internationally.Apple did have a great holiday quarter but what will happen to Apple in the first three quarters of this year with consumers fighting off a recession and rising prices? Thats the question investors are asking about Apple and many other gadget manufacturers. There are also concerns that if people already have any iPod will they might not be as excited about owning the latest and greatest iPod - especially if things get tight.Permalink | Recent Headlines | WWFeeds.com