The world : Apple’s iPhone 5s And iPhone 5c Sell 9M Units Over Opening Weekend.

The world : Apple’s iPhone 5s And iPhone 5c Sell 9M Units Over Opening Weekend.

Apple has just issued a press release revealing it sold 9M iPhones during the launch weekend of its iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s. As is typical for the company with new hardware, it hasn’t broken out individual model sales, but other signals point to a stronger debut weekend for the higher-end iPhone 5s than for the 5c. Apple blew away its previous record for first weekend iPhone sales, which was 5 million for the iPhone 5 last year.

The iPhone 5s was reportedly sold out in retail locations quickly around the globe, and shipping times at online Apple Store websites also slipped quickly into vague October time frames. The 5c, however, remains in stock and ready to ship within 24 hours at most, if not all international Apple online stores. Analysts had predicted between 5 and 8 million launch weekend sales across both devices, with KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo predicting a higher percentage going to the iPhone 5c. Stock constraints could mean that Kuo is still correct, despite the sell-out of the 5s models, but data from Localytics suggests otherwise.

If Apple stays true to its history, it probably won’t break out individual model sales of iPhone 5s and 5c, as it has never broken out iPad mini sales, for instance. Analysts and market researchers will be plugging away at retail and other sources to try to determine the split, however, so it’s possible we could eventually see some sort of consensus estimate emerge as a best possible guess.

Apple also announced that 200 million devices are now running iOS 7, the update it released for its mobile platform last week. That makes it the “fastest software upgrade in history,” which is in keeping with the early numbers we saw reported from developers and analytics firms. iTunes Radio, the new streaming music service introduced by Apple in iOS 7, ad 11 million listeners during its launch weekend, which is doubly impressive because that’s a U.S.-only service for now. Compare that to 200 million registered users for Pandora at last count, a milestone that took six years to achieve.

Another factor to consider with respect to these device numbers is that Apple’s iPhone 5 launched in just 9 markets around the world, while the iPhone 5s and 5c debuted in 11 total, including China, where launch demand appeared strong. China accounted for two million sales of the iPhone 5 during its launch weekend last year alone, so that likely has added considerably to the total this time around for the 5s and 5c.

Resource from:

http://techcrunch.com/2013/09/23/apples-iphone-5s-and-iphone-5c-sell-9m-units-over-opening-weekend-topping-5m-for-iphone-5-last-year/

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Malaysia : M'sia to spend US$ 49b on rail projects.

Malaysia : M'sia to spend US$ 49b on rail projects.

The Malaysian government is expected to spend an estimated 160 billion ringgit (US$49 billion) more on rail-related projects until 2020, said Najib Tun Razak.

The prime minister said the railroad industry had seen “massive expansion” in Asia and become an increasingly significant mode in Malaysia’s efforts to improve public transportation.

“Along with the rapid development of rail networks comes the challenge of the application of rail and rail-related technology. The application of intelligent infrastructure in rail can be a game changer, by lowering costs and improving safety and reliability at the same time,” he said in his address before launching the inaugural Rail Business Asia 2013 here on Tuesday.

Adding that the government had invested over 50 billion ringgit ($15 billion) since 1990, he stressed the need to train skilled and specialised manpower to fill hundreds of thousands of jobs generated from rail projects.

“Thousands of vacancies will have to be filled. The Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project alone is estimated to create about 130,000 jobs,” he noted, adding that trained workers were needed for tasks such as construction of tracks, facilities as well as for research and development.

Najib said another 800 jobs would be created from the first phase of the 400 million ringgit ($122 million) Asean Rail Centre in Batu Gajah, Perak, which is expected to be completed by mid-2014.

“Eventually, the centre will cover an all-in-one scope of work for production, assembly, testing, overhaul and refurbishment of trains for the Asean region,” he said.

Najib urged skill training institutes, including those under the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), to speed up the pace in producing the required number of skilled manpower.

He welcomed the Land Public Transport Commission’s (SPAD) skill-training academy for rail industry workers, Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd’s training programmes and the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology’s memorandum of understanding with French multinational Thales Group to train locals.

Once fully operational, he said the MRT would cover 156km and see up to two million trips per day, a huge jump from the 500,000 daily trips on the current urban rail system.

Najib added that another project in the pipeline was the 330km-long Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail link, estimated to be completed by 2020 which would cut land travelling time bet­ween the two countries to just 90 minutes.

At another function earlier, Najib said the government was actively trying to strike a balance between environmental conservation and economic development.

He added that this was not an easy path for developing countries which were often more expo­sed and vulnerable to environmental threats.

“Integrating economic, health and environmental policies is easier said than done.

“It takes strong leadership to instil change, ensure a common vision and enhance cross-sectoral cooperation at the national, regional and global levels,” he said in his address before launching the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Regional Forum on Environment and Health in Southeast and East Asian Countries on Tuesday.

Resource from:

http://asianewsnet.net/Msia-to-spend-US$49b-on-rail-projects-51467.html

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Australia : Emerson blasts Rudd over Labor downfall

Australia : Emerson blasts Rudd over

 Labor downfall

Former Labor frontbencher Craig Emerson has delivered a scorching critique of Kevin Rudd, blaming him for the damaging leaks against Julia Gillard in the 2010 campaign and saying he must quit parliament.

Mr Rudd resigned as leader of the Labor party on Saturday night after conceding defeat to Tony Abbott and has not spoken publicly since.

He won his own central Brisbane seat of Griffith and has indicated to colleagues that he will sit on the backbench for the three-year term.

But Dr Emerson, who quit the ministry - and parliament - when Mr Rudd returned as Prime Minister in June, says Kevin Rudd should move on from politics.

Resource from:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/

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