Kevin&JohnKarmaenduro

In January this year a law was passed that made the practice of cell phone unlocking illegal for users on a hardware subsidizing contract. Cell phone unlocking is the removal of restrictions placed on the device by a cell phone carrier. It is opposed to jailbreaking, which is the removal of restrictions placed on devices by manufacturers. The ruling caused widespread dismay, and led to a protest movement. The FCC said it will investigate the law, in order to ascertain whether or not it negatively affects competitiveness. The story was originally reported by TechCrunch. According to that site, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the ¡°ban raises competition concerns; it raises innovation concerns.¡±

The ban on unlocking smartphones means it is illegal for users to switch their cell phone carrier on a subsidized phone. The law appears designed to protect cell carriers who pay out of pocket for hardware in the hope that they will reap a profit on monthly contracts. The ban was implemented under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA.

For six years the Library of Congress, which is charged with specifying the regulations of the DMCA, did not include cell phone unlocking under the act. That all changed in January, however. The FCC will now investigate that ruling and see if there¡¯s anything that it can do to change it.

The FCC chairman said ¡°It¡¯s something that we will look at at [sic] the FCC to see if we can and should enable consumers to use cheap smart phone.¡± According to Gregory Ferenstein, who originally reported the story at TechCrunch, Genachowski¡¯s tone made him out to appear anxious to do something about the law.

It is unclear whether or not the FCC has any authority on the issue of cell phone unlocking, and the first thing the regulator is likely to do is make the case for the legitimacy of this action. If it manages to make that case convincingly, users might once gain be allowed to unlock their phones without fearing retribution from the authorities.luoqiyin666

Mobile phone handsets from foreign manufacturers that cost more than 2,000 rupees ($37) will become more expensive after India¡¯s finance minister proposed increasing the import tax on them to 6% from 1%.

The move will make dual sim smart phones and feature phones (handsets that have some smartphone features but are generally cheaper) made by companies such as Apple Inc. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd Nokia Corp. and BlackBerry more expensive as most of their models cost more than 2,000 rupees. Sunil Dutt, BlackBerry India¡¯s managing director, said the proposed move could hurt the smartphone market in India, which is currently growing at about 80% a year.

¡°It could have a negative impact on the purchase decision of many consumers who aspire to own smartphones. In turn this will also impact some of the services consumption which carriers are trying to take to the customers along the lines of health care, mobile governance, and so on,¡± he said. P. Balaji, managing director at Nokia India, added that the 6% import tax would make it difficult to compete with gray market supply, while the vice president of Samsung India¡¯s mobile unit said the proposed move would lead to higher prices for consumers.

Apple¡¯s India unit wasn¡¯t immediately available for comment.

The technology research unit of Cyber Media (India) Ltd. says about 224 million handsets will be shipped to India in calendar year 2013 compared to 202 million in January to November last year.

The decision to increase the import tax could encourage companies to make cheaper phones, said T. M. Ramakrishnan, chief executive at local handset maker S Mobility Ltd. ¡°This decision will surely impact the industry¡¯s focus on making smartphones more affordable,¡± he said. Smartphone and feature phones sales are on the rise in India as telecom operators are providing high-speed Internet and other communications services. They are also encouraging users to use data services on their handsets as margins are higher than traditional voice telephone services. Mohammad Chowdhury, head of telecom at PricewaterhouseCoopers India, also warned that the proposed tax would ¡°impact negatively the uptake of data services in India and in all likelihood slow it down, just at a time when it has begun to gain momentum.¡±

In his budget presentation Thursday, Finance Minister P.Chidambaram said about 70% of imported mobile phones and 60% of domestically made mobile phones cost 2,000 rupees or less.luoqiyin666

So the joke is that no one will an excuse to be late for a Chanel runway show anymore (bazinga). Karl Lagerfeld, who, as you know, heads up Chanel, Fendi, his namesake brand, and is involved with a huge number of collaborations (ranging from books, table wear, music and so on in that in order) has officially lunched his own self titled watch collection hitting stores¡­.nowish. How on earth does he find the time??? Back in early fall 2011, Fossil Inc. committed to a ¡°strategic partnership¡± with Lagerfeld to design, develop and distribute men¡¯s and women¡¯s timepieces. Paolo Righi, president at Karl Lagerfeld: ¡°It is essential for us to work with the best license partners in each segment¡ªthat is why we are happy to partner up with Fossil.¡± Mark Quick, vice chairman at Fossil, said: ¡°We look forward to working with Karl Lagerfeld. It is a pleasure to work with such an inspiring fashion visionary.¡± ¨C WWD Following with his ¡°accessible¡± fashion brand, the watches are pretty inline with the Karl vibe: Sleek, contemporary, playing off some fun triangular design and an elongated bezel that is reminiscent of a classic Chanel watch. Personally I kind of love¡¯em, it isn¡¯t often you find a fashionable watch for such a steal of a deal. ¡°You cannot buy time but you can get a beautiful watch to measure time without spending a fortune¡±-Karl Lagerfeld Here¡¯s a look: The Karl 7 and Karl Zip watches; Photos Courtesy of Karl Lagerfeld for Fossil Lagerfeld¡¯s fave is the ¡°Karl Zip¡± which features an exposed zipper that¡¯s both functional and eye catching ($535). Inspired by his lucky number, the ¡°Karl 7,¡± which features a unique and modern design ($335). The middle time piece is this fashion bloggers favorite, it¡¯s just so KL.luoqiyin666

Here¡¯s a good chunk of the collection with prices ranging from $150 up to $595. There¡¯s one for every outfit: cheap watches for men