Local NFL star shares his tips for men's health

AeroSoft Health NEWS:
1) Local NFL star shares his tips for men's health

The chance to shake hands with NFL star Jim Leonhard had many men standing in line at this health expo Sunday. But Leonhard and doctors say they hope men line up for diagnostic tests as well.
“Men's health is an extremely important issue in northern Wisconsin and dealing with a lot of guys who don't like to take care of themselves,” he says. “And anytime you can have an event like this, and make so many resources available to people, it's huge.”
Leonhard, a native of the town of Tony, says he's grateful for the chance to share his expertise as a professional athlete with the New York Jets with these guys.
And doctors say having a football player gives men the incentive to take time out for their health.
“You can come in and hear Jim Leonhard talk, and oh, by the way, while you're here get screened for prostate carcinoma, pick up the cards for colon cancer, get screened for your blood pressure, your blood sugar and your cholesterol, and, by the way, we're going to do it for nothing. That's a pretty good package deal,” says Dr. Scott Carpenter, an emergency medical physician at the Flambeau Hospital Clinic in Park Falls.
Doctor Carpenter says it's important for men of all ages to not smoke, but also watch their weight and how much they drink. He says preventative care is hugely key.
“Men make one common mistake. We don’t want to go in for health care, so we don’t go in for screening, so then we get sick and then we're at the doctor all the time. And that doesn’t do anything at all for our attitudes,” he says.
That way, whether pro athlete, or average Wisconsinite, all these guys can stay in the game.
It was the third year for the men's health event held in Park Falls by the Flambeau Hospital. All screening tests were done on site and for free.

2) Why men die young. Why three BC health officials care

Betty Friedan was always ahead of her time. She was arguably the most influential leader of North America's modern women's movement.
Friedan's pioneering 1963 book, The Feminine Mystique, championed bringing women into "fully equal partnership with men."
The cause will be celebrated March 8th on the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the United Nation's International Women's Year, which began in Germany.
Friedan (1921-2006) was more comprehensive than most, however. She was among the first feminists to go out of her way to remind everyone not to forget the well-being of men.
By the 1970s, feisty Friedan was fearlessly telling any person who would listen not to attack men. The two sexes are interdependent, she said, they need each other.
The advance of women, Friedan said, should not lead to the neglect of men, since any declines in men's economic, psychological or medical health would also lead to the suffering of families, women and children.
In recent decades, Friedan's egalitarian urgings have often been ignored in mainstream North America. But three leading figures in B.C.'s medical community are rising up to her challenge to take men's well-being more seriously.
In what the authors say is, unfortunately, a rare attempt in Canada, Simon Fraser University psychologist Dan Bilsker (photo lower left), Vancouver General Hospital urologist Larry Goldenberg and University of B.C. urologist Joyce Davison have put together a major report on the crisis in men's health.
Their 131-page Roadmap to Men's Health, which relies on the expertise of 15 other B.C. medical researchers, centres on what could be called a "killer" fact in gender-related health data: Canadian men die on average four to six years younger than women.
Shouldn't we care more than we do? the health professionals ask in the report. Their detailed response to that question in the report adds up to a brilliant analysis of both the complexities of the male psyche and the vagaries of society's attitude to men's health.
Goldenberg, who specializes in prostate cancer, says families will be the winners if the gap between men and women can be narrowed on life expectancy. (In B.C. men die on average 4.4. years younger than women.) Too many Canadian children, Goldenberg says, lose their fathers prematurely. And too many women become widows too soon. Of Canadians who live into their 90s, he says, women outnumber men eight to one.
"Having a Y chromosome should not be seen as possessing a self-destruct mechanism," say the authors. Men's shorter lifespan should not be seen as "natural and inevitable."
The Roadmap to Men's Health cites the four main sources of men's premature death rates in Canada:
- Cardiovascular disease, from which middle-aged Canadian men die at a rate more than three times higher than women;
- Suicide, from which men die at a rate three to four times higher than women;
  - Motor vehicle accidents, from which men die three times more than young women;
 - Workplace accidents, with men being the victims of more than 97 per cent of all workplace deaths.
There are many social and psychological reasons men don't live as long as women, says the report.
Men are often expected to work at more dangerous jobs. They also have fewer social supports, and they are more averse to preventive behaviours such as exercise, nutrition and moderate drinking. The authors maintain that evidence of men's inferior health have generally been greeted with "resignation," as something to be accepted rather than addressed.
"Given the striking discrepancy in life expectancy, one would expect to find that men's health has been a high priority for many years, drawing substantial investment of financial and intellectual resources from policy-makers and researchers," say the authors.
"But, in fact, the domain of men's health has been neglected, receiving serious and widespread attention only in the last decade."
Compared with other western democracies, say the authors, Canadian public health officials have been among the worst offenders. They've shown little interest in men's health research or programs (beyond a recent emphasis on prostate cancer screening).
The three authors lament that improvements made so far in dealing with men's health challenges in Canada have been trivial.
Why? In the 1960s, the report recounts how American and Canadian researchers finally began taking into account women's unique physical and psychological characteristics.
It was a response to the blinkered way that medical studies had been done up to that time: when researchers mistakenly focused only on male subjects, thinking what they found with them would always be relevant to both men and women.
It wasn't true in many cases. And the realization lead to a revolution in research spending.
Bilsker, Goldenberg and Davison cite recent a Canadian study that found women's health research now receives more than double the funding allocated to men's health.
"An example ... is the B. C Centre of Excellence for Women's Health, established in the early 1970s in response to unmet health needs identified by leaders in the women's movement," says The Roadmap to Men's Health, which was funded by the Men's Health Initiative of B.C.
"The Centre has identified and provided comprehensive health services to women for the past 25 years -- but there is no equivalent centre for men."
The Roadmap to Men's Health -- which defines health as much more than the absence of disease -- makes many recommendations for improving the physical and emotional wellbeing of men and boys, and outlines many reforms needed in Canada's public health care system, some of which have been shown to work in other countries:
- The major priority for men's health research in Canada should be cardiovascular disease, followed by suicide prevention. The specific focus of the latter should be: "Why is the suicide rate in Canada highest for middle-aged men?"
- Physicians should be trained and encouraged to provide greater focus on men's health issues, such as risky drinking, suicidal thoughts and poor nutrition.
- Innovative ways need to be found to engage men toward healthier behaviour, including controlling risky drinking and dealing more effectively with dark moods. A few new educational programs are now underway in B.C., including the website http://www.aboutmen.ca/
- Governments should open male-friendly health care services. Some countries have set up men's health-screening clinics at sporting venues and in male-majority workplaces.
Of course, part of the answer to improving men's health is men themselves. Earlier medical researchers argued that real change won't come until men transcend many of the traditional ideas of what it means to be masculine.
The Roadmap to Men's Health outlines how previous medical researchers accused men of following unhealthy masculine values, such as winning, keeping emotions under control, taking risks, aggression, frequently changing sex partners, dominance, the primacy of work and the pursuit of status.
The authors don't dismiss the potential downside of these so-called male values, but they do judge them as misleading stereotypes, which don't at all apply to all men.
They also point out how such labelling of men can easily lead to "blaming the victim," in much the same way women were dismissed 50 years ago for not being as capable as men in the workplace.
Just as importantly, the authors stress that many of these so-called "masculine" behaviours, such as aggression and emotional control, can at times be positive, for both men and women. There are often times when members of both sexes have to be strong, determined and courageous.
As well, society often relies on men to exhibit some of these "masculine" traits, particularly risk-taking. They're necessary for many dangerous male-majority jobs, whether in the military, construction, logging or police forces.
Lastly, the authors worry that overemphasizing some of the negative things associated with traditional masculinity will simply turn men off, by shaming them. By asking them to "apologize for being men."
It's hardly the route, these wise B.C. medical specialists say, to encourage men to embrace the health care system and take better care of themselves.

3) Men's Health - Do-It-Yourself Enlarged Prostate Treatment

The selection of swollen prostate treatment is could be according to the severity in the prostate signs, how they influence your day-to-day existence, also because the existence from the existing illness. Prostate therapy selections may possibly include way of life modification, prostate medicines, prostate surgical treatment, and just “watchful thinking”. If a gentleman is more than sixty decades aged, he is much most likely to have swollen prostate signs. But most males with swollen prostates have only the minor signs. Self-care and watchful thinking are generally enough to produce them feel significantly far better and cozy.
Self-Care:
1. Urinate the moment you’ve the urge. Check out the comfort and ease space whenever you might have the chance to urinate even in the event you do not have any urges.
2. Remain absent from caffeine and alcohol, particularly just before heading to mattress.
3. Do not drink too much fluid at a one time. Unfold out these fluids for each day. Also, stay clear of drinking as well significantly before heading to mattress.
4. Do NOT take sinus or cold medications which are sold over-the-counter, because they contain antihistamines or decongestants. These types of medicines can increase swollen prostate symptoms.
5. Keep yourself warm and also have a typical exercise. Chilly climate plus inactivity can worsen the symptoms of swollen prostate.
6. Learn to perform “Kegel Exercise”. It really is a pelvic strengthening exercise. You’ll be able to inquire your physician about this.
7. Decrease your tension amounts. Tension and nervousness usually leads into additional urination.
Enlarged Prostate Treatment:
Alpha Blockers
Examples are prazosin, doxazosin, terazosin, tamsolusin and alfusozin. These classes of medications are primarily utilised to deal with hypertension. These medication may also relax the prostate muscle tissues too as the bladderneck muscle tissue for your relief of swollen prostate symptoms especially an less complicated urination.
Dutasteride and Finasteride
These medications can reduce the hormones that are made by the prostate gland, thus lowering the prostate’s dimension, growing the flow price of urine and decreasing the signs of swollen prostate.
Saw Palmetto
Various herbs and extracts are already attempted and examined for that remedy of swollen prostate. Noticed Palmetto is 1 of them, and is among the most confirmed by quite a few specialists and wellness treatment experts. This herb has developed into used globally to deal with signs of prostate enlargement and BPH (Benign Prostate Hyperplasia). This herb is normally suggested being an option to several swollen prostate medicines.

4) Men's Health - Benign Prostatic Enlargement Symptoms
What is prostate gland?
The prostate gland is a little walnut-size organ which lies just below the bladder (storage of urine prior to excretion) and surrounds the urethral tube (the tube where the urine flows from the bladder). The prostate gland secretes a fluid which is responsible for nourishing the sperms. This fluid is known as the ejaculatory fluid.
What are prostate problems?
Prostate problems are quite typical in males older than 50 decades aged. Most instances are effectively treated with out harming a man’s sexual daily life. Virtually 80% of cases of prostate problems include benign prostatic enlargement or generally referred to as “prostate enlargement”.
How are prostate problems detected?
An urologist is a doctor who specializes for those diseases on the urinary tract also as troubles regarding the prostate gland. Prostate enlargement is normally detected by a rectal exam (digital rectal examination). The urologist may possibly also study the prostate, urethra, and bladder making use of an instrument known as cytoscope, that’s inserted inside the penis.
What’s benign prostatic enlargement?
Benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) is really a noncancerous enlargement from the prostatic gland, a significant occurrence which is broadly spread in older males. This condition is also known as benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). BPE generally begins whenever a guy is 30. The disease progresses slowly and also the symptoms normally seem when males arrived at 50.
What exactly are the signs and symptoms of benign prostatic enlargement?
In BPE, there is a development in the prostate gland. The development may compress the urethra that is just posterior of your prostate gland. This may ultimately block the flow of urine to become excreted. It can trigger a urinary retention top to signs and symptoms like frequent urges to urinate and dribbling and thinning from the urine stream. Significant difficulties connected with BPE may consist of urinary tract infection, complete urethral blockage, and kidney damage. These circumstances are considered as professional medical emergency and can lead into deadly issues like kidney failure.

AeroSoft Laptop NEWS
1) Google confirms removal of malicious Android apps
NEWSAfter several days of silence on the issue, Google has confirmed it removed several malicious apps from its Android Market earlier this week and said it would remove the apps from users' devices as well.

2) Google confirmed it removed malicious apps from the Android Market.
Photo credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET News
Only devices running an Android version earlier than version 2.2.2 were susceptible to the rogue apps, which took advantage of known vulnerabilities, the company reported late on Saturday in the Google Mobile blog. The company believes the only information accessed by the apps were the unique codes used to identify the the specific device and the version of Android that it was running.
Google identified 58 malicious apps and removed them on Tuesday, but not before they were downloaded to about 260,000 devices. Google said it would use a kill switch to remotely remove the apps from users' devices and push an Android security update to affected users to repair the damage done by the apps. Affected users can expect to receive an email from Android Market support explaining the action, Google said.

3) Will the Search Alliance provide marketers with an alternative to Google?
The Yahoo!/MSN Search Alliance, which rolled out in the US late last year transitions in Europe imminently. As advertisers and agencies this side of the Atlantic await its arrival, will it finally deliver on being a serious Google competitor?
In late 2009, Yahoo and Microsoft announced plans to tie their two search engines together, in an attempt to deliver a more competitive edge and provide a real alternative to Google for internet browsers. Under the deal, Yahoo’s search engine uses Microsoft’s Bing powered results (both natural and sponsored). The two firms share the revenues.

The deal has largely been Microsoft driven, as it seeks to increase its share in the search engine marketing (SEM) space, which in the UK, is around 4% compared to Yahoo’s 3% and Google’s commanding 90%.

Results thus far in the US have been mixed. Some advertisers are reporting increased cost per clicks (CPC’s), reduced click through rates (CTR’s) and fluctuating cost per acquisitions (CPA’s). Others have suggested the Alliance has delivered more favourable results, including an increase in search volumes and sales. However, one thing we need to bear in mind is that Bing and Yahoo already control close to 30% of the SEM space in the US, significantly more than that in the UK.

4)Doubts around incremental performance

Agencies this side of the Atlantic are being briefed on what to expect from the Alliance and how to best go about it.

A surprise is the fact that it will not allow for optimisation to specific platforms. This means that for paid search, any bid changes, ad copy amends and position preference settings will be applied across both Bing and Yahoo. The principle seems reasonable - both sites will be powered by Microsoft after all. However, both sites still have the control on how the advertised results will be displayed, meaning that position three in Yahoo, may be displayed totally differently to position three on Bing.

Discovering that position three might be at the top of the left-hand sponsored results on one search engine, yet top of the right-hand side of the other, with no ability to optimise accordingly, certainly makes us doubt the incremental performance that can be driven through these sites.

Currently, although traffic and conversion numbers are relatively low across Bing and Yahoo, there is the flexibility of optimising them separately to drive the best possible results. Under the new format, this is removed.

Granted, the time saved by using a single platform to optimise both sites will be appreciated. It would, however, be preferable and far more useful to see the results split by site and be able to act accordingly, even if this does take an extra few hours per day.

Microsoft had one chance to move searchers away from Google. It failed. Convincing the consumer AGAIN will be a struggle

All could be forgiven if the Alliance does help close the gap and dependence on Google. However, even as a combined force, the Search Alliance will still only account for approximately 7% of the UK search space. It is Greenlight’s view that Microsoft in particular, will struggle to drive more visitors to its Bing site.

Microsoft had one chance in the UK to sway searchers away from Google. It failed by delivering a solution which at the time of promotion was inferior to that of Google. Things may have changed, but trying to convince the user of that AGAIN, will be a struggle.

It would really be great to see the Search Alliance working in the UK such that marketers have a variety of choice and are not as heavily reliant on Google as they currently are. Indeed it would be good for Google to have a credible contender when it comes to its dominance. However, given the initial results from the US and from some of the limitations Greenlight has discovered of late, we are more pessimistic than optimistic about any significant shift in search engine user behaviour in the UK at least.


1) Google's new API addresses Android fragmentation

Google is in a current battle to avoid fragmentation of Android, while preserving at least some of the openness that attracts many supporters. Its latest step is to extend its Fragments API (application programming interface) to older OS releases, allowing developers to modify their existing programs for newer devices.

Fragments appeared with the new Android 3.0 or Honeycomb, aiming to simplify the task of getting legacy Android apps onto the larger screened devices that the OS release supports. Such apps would not take advantage of all the capabilities of Android tablets, but the same is true of most iPad products - as the GigaOM blog complains in a post, on the iPad "we've seen application after application come to market as just an incremental improvement of the web or desktop versions of the same (or similar) application. Why? Because apps, content and consumption experiences on iPads and other tablets need to be rethought and reimagined by combining the hardware capabilities with software."

However, for those who just want to update their apps quickly to run on new devices, Fragments will be welcome. As a self-contained component with its own user interface and lifecycle, Google says if can be reused in different parts of an application's UI depending on the desired flow for a certain device or screen size.

Originally, the new API did not help developers using earlier versions of the OS, but this has now changed. Android SDK technology leader Xavier Ducrochet wrote on the Android Developers Blog: "Today we've released a static library that exposes the same Fragments API (as well as the new LoaderManager and a few other classes) so that applications compatible with Android 1.6 or later can use fragments to create tablet compatible user interfaces." The library, called 'Android Compatibility package', is available for download via the SDK Updater.

According to the latest stats from the Android Developers Devices Dashboard, release 2.2 now powers almost 58% of devices, while 31.4% run release 2.1. The latest smartphone release, 2.3, only represents 0.8% so far, while the tablet release 3.0 is too new in the market to make an impact (its main commercial product, Motorola Xoom, only just shipped). Among the older Androids, 1.6 still runs on 6.3% of products in use and Android 1.5 clings on in 3.9%.

2) Google Doodle Celebrates Comics Legend Will Eisner

Google has unveiled its latest doodle—a creative play on the logo that adorns the company's primary search page. Comics artist Scott McCloud assisted in the creation of today's illustration, which pays tribute to comic book legend Will Eisner. The masked character making up the two "Os" in Google represents one of Eisner's more well-known works: The Spirit, or Denny Colt, a crime-fighting detective whose comic (of the same name) ran in newspapers between 1940 and 1952.
Subsequent work by Eisner, including his graphic novels entitled, "A Contract With God, and Other Tenement Stories," as well as a graphical retelling of Herman Melville's, "Moby Dick," earned Eisner the unofficial honor of being considered the father of modern graphical storytelling. He continue to publish graphical books up until his death in 2004, mainly focusing on using print graphics to retell stories, and expand upon the characters, of various novels and myths cemented in the public consciousness.
"For most of his career, Eisner was years, even decades, ahead of the curve. I saw him debating artists and editors half his age, and there was rarely any question who the youngest man in the room was," writes McCloud. "It helped that he never stood on ceremony. Everyone was his peer, regardless of age or status. None of us called him 'Mr. Eisner.' He was just 'Will.'"
The recognition of Eisner's influence even stretched as far as the awards platform—specifically, the creation of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award, otherwise known as the "Oscar" of the comics industry, in 1987.
"The primary purpose of these awards," says longtime award administrator Jackie Estrada, "is to call attention to and celebrate the best that the comics artform has to offer."
Eisner himself lived to see the award's creation, even going so far as to attend the award ceremony held at each year's Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. He was known for personally congratulating those winning the award that bore his name, which consists of more than two dozen categories' worth of victors.
Notable honorees include Neil Gaiman, who won in the "Best Writer" category each year between 1991 and 1994, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, who won "Best Writer/Artist" in 1988 for their work on Watchmen, and Scott Kurtz, who won the 2006 "Best Digital Comic" Eisner for his PvP webcomic.
McCloud, who helped fashion today's Google doodle (in honor of what would have been Eisner's 94th birthday), previously illustrated Google's Chrome comic book. He's also a judge for the "Doodle 4 Google" contest, which invites K-12 students to submit Google-themed illustrations for the chance to win a $15,000 grand prize—a college scholarship, of course, in addition to other technological goodies.

Aerosoft Mobile News
1) HTC EVO 3D and Nexus S 4G May Come to Sprint

Sprint is planning to make a splash at CTIA this spring, and Engadget has received information from an anonymous tipster claiming that Samsung and HTC have high-end Android smartphones in the pipeline for the carrier. Samsung's Nexus S 4G is said to be one of them, while the other is said to be the HTC EVO 3D. Additionally, Sprint is said to be preparing the announcement of the HTC EVO View tablet.
When we reviewed the Nexus S a few weeks ago, we found the pure Google experience it provides to be quite a performer. It certainly doesn't fit everyone's needs, but Sprint subscribers who would be happy to rely on the growing Android Market for customization should look forward to the potential release of the Nexus S 4G.
The HTC EVO 3D clearly sounds like that 3D super-smartphone HTC is known to be working on, while the HTC EVO View could be Sprint's version of the recently announced HTC Flyer. HTC CEO Peter Chou recently said that the company would release smartphones featuring the new HTC Watch on-demand video service and OnLive cloud gaming platform (both to be available on the Flyer) in Q2 2011.
The HTC EVO 4G has been, and currently is, a big hit for Sprint, and we imagine the EVO 3D has the potential of becoming Sprint's flagship for the second half of 2011. Earlier this year we believed that a recent Sprint press event would be all about the EVO 3D, but it turned out to be all about the Kyocera Echo dual-screen smartphone. We'll keep our fingers crossed for the HTC EVO 3D coming up next!


2) HTC Thunderbolt May Release Tomorrow
Looks like the total confusion over just when the HTC Thunderbolt will be released continues, the rumour is that the new Android 2.2 Froyo packing Thunderbolt will see release as of the 10th of the month although there has been no confirmation from either Verizon or the HTC camp.
However according to an article over on Unwired View the HTC Thunderbolt release date on Best Buy could well be tomorrow the 8th of March according to a recent tweet that apparently quotes a Best Buy rep.
The release date for the HTC Thunderbolt came from @realdslayton…“http://yfrog.com/hsox1rfj The BestBuy Rep, gave me a release date of the 8th of March… we’ll see. #thunderbolt #android@droid_life”
Now of course one has to remember that this new release date for the HTC Thunderbolt hasn’t been confirmed in any way so should be taken as pure rumour for the moment, as all it really does is add more fuel to the fire which has been burning over just when the HTC Thunderbolt will actually see release.
Will the HTC Thunderbolt release tomorrow the 8th, or perhaps the 10th of March…who know, we’ll have to wait and see.

3) HTC Secures 1M Orders
Chinese trade publication Digtimes reports Taiwan-based mobile manufacturer HTC has already secured sales of one million units of its new 7-inch Android-powered HTC Flyer tablet device, ensuring the company has guaranteed orders until September 2011.
Digitimes sources a report by Chinese newspaper Commercial Times, which also suggests that despite a lack of any official pricing or release date, the HTC Flyer will cost around $600, coming in lower than the Samsung Galaxy Tab but higher than Apple’s iPad 2.
The HTC Flyer was unveiled in February, and will be the first tablet from the company that will feature the company’s HTC Sense UI. It has a sleek alumninium body and pen interaction, encouraging users to write down notes instead of jabbing away at a screen. The Flyer will run a customised flavour of the Android 2.4 operating system that will allow HTC to integrate its HTC Sense, HTC Scribe and HTC Watch technologies.
Today’s reported sales are likely to incorporate orders from carriers and retailers and will not necessarily equate to physical consumer sales. HTC expects to sell 1.5 million of its new Flyer tablet devices this year, committing to releasing two additional tablets in 2011.

4) HTC receives orders for 1 million Flyer tablet PCs, says paper
High Tech Computer (HTC) reportedly already has order visibility to the end of August 2011 for its Flyer tablet PC with total order volumes reaching one million units, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.
Although HTC has not yet made any official announcement about Flyer's pricing, industry rumors indicate that the Flyer's price will be around US$600, cheaper than Samsung's Galaxy Tab's US$650-900, but higher than Apple's iPad 2's US$499, the paper added.




1)Mega Payments Race Pits Google, Visa Against Phone Operators
Deutsche Telekom AG, France Telecom SA and other mobile operators, who lost the battle for online applications stores to Apple Inc. and Google Inc., say they have a fighting chance of winning the corner convenience store.

The operators, along with Google and credit card providers including Visa Inc., are scrambling to offer so-called near- field communication payment systems, which will let people buy everything from milk and butter to clothes with a swipe of their smartphone. NFC may be the last chance for operators to avoid being simple conduits of other companies’ electronic commerce.

“Google’s massive, but Google does not have a billing relationship with 99 percent of its customers,” Deutsche Telekom Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Ed Kozel said in an interview last week. “That’s our opportunity.”

The stakes for losing out on this business development are huge, with NFC payments -- which could potentially replace many cash registers and credit cards -- likely to account for a third of the $1.13 trillion global market in mobile transactions by 2014, according to IE Market Research.

Operators, who “were not as good as the Internet players” for online apps, have an opportunity to get back in the game, said Philippe Vallee, an executive vice president at SIM-card maker Gemalto SA. With NFC, “they can become the applications portal for the secure wallet.”

2) Mobile Experiments

Deutsche Telekom may buy a payment-processing company for its NFC project or partner with a financial institution, Kozel said. France Telecom, along with other French mobile operators, in May began an NFC experiment in the southern city of Nice. Chief Executive Officer Stephane Richard said in December the Paris-based company is offering new SIM cards for contactless mobile services and expects to have 500,000 clients this year.

For Google, whose Android operating system is activated by about 300,000 new users a day, mobile payments are a “mega- scale” opportunity, CEO Eric Schmidt said at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Feb. 15.

Google, which got 96 percent of its $29.3 billion in sales last year from advertising, is seeking other sources of revenue. The search-engine owner’s flagship Android smartphone, the Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.-made Nexus S, is one of the first commercially available devices with NFC technology installed.

Apple recently hired Benjamin Vigier, an NFC expert, from mobile-payments startup mFoundry, sparking speculation the iPhone maker also has NFC plans. Apple already has an extensive billing system through its iTunes entertainment and apps portal. Still, Apple’s preference for proprietary systems may be a hurdle, said Deutsche Telekom’s Kozel.

3)Daunting Investment

“Do you think any company could be successful with a vendor-specific NFC solution -- Apple terminals, Apple everything?” he asked. “Do you think they could succeed in the marketplace? That would be difficult.”

On top of transaction fees, handlers of mobile transactions will aim to earn revenue from targeted advertising and offers using discount services like those provided by Groupon Inc. Credit card, phone, and software companies are also exploring how to offer easy payments between individuals, or practical services like dividing restaurant bills between mobile devices.

Still, taking full advantage of the growth of NFC payments may require a daunting series of investments for any one type of company. A commercially viable NFC system will require the physical infrastructure of an entirely new way of paying for goods -- point-of-sale terminals and NFC equipment in handsets - - along with software, security, and processing platforms.

The scale of those investments makes it unlikely phone companies can go it alone, said Bill Gajda, the head of mobile innovation for San Francisco-based Visa.

‘Big Job’

“I’d be interested to see if any operator goes as far as trying to process payments,” he said. “That’s a big job. The best route forward to operators is to work with banks and payment companies. At the time of transaction, do you really want to do dispute resolution, risk, fraud? You don’t. Let the payment companies do what they do.”

Late last year, U.S. carriers AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile unit began efforts to build a joint national payments network, ISIS. The system will be made available to all banks and merchants with help from Discover Financial Services and Barclays Plc -- posing a possible threat to parallel efforts by Visa and Mastercard Inc.

The widening availability of NFC-capable handsets is pushing companies looking for a piece of the market to move more quickly. In addition to the Nexus S, “many if not most” new Research in Motion Inc. BlackBerry devices will be NFC-capable this year, and Apple’s next iPhone model may include the technology.

No Floodgate

As a critical mass of users builds, operators are pointing to their experience with secure billing -- and existing access to customers’ bank details -- as an advantage in the NFC race.

To be sure, a widespread move to universal mobile payment is far from certain. A “long tail” of merchants may go years before installing payment terminals, even if major retailers move to do so in the next two to three years, Visa’s Gajda said. NFC’s growth may also be limited by the spread of smartphones capable of handling the technology.

Some similar payment systems have had only slow uptake. Contactless credit card payments, using existing technologies such as MasterCard’s PayPass and Visa’s payWave, are “still pretty niche in terms of usage,” said Pete Cunningham, an analyst at research firm Canalys in Reading, U.K.

While contactless card payments are slowly becoming more popular, operators shouldn’t expect a sudden revenue boom from payments, he added.

“It’s not going to be a floodgate.”




4) Jet plans to expand domestic, global operations from April-May

MUMBAI: Jet Airways plans to expand its domestic and global operations from April-May when it also proposes to launch a flight to Manila.
"We are looking at a 15 per cent capacity addition on our domestic sector from the summer schedule. Besides, we are also mulling increasing the capacity on international routes by 5-7 per cent this summer," an airline source said here.
The summer schedule of airlines starts from March 29. As part of this capacity addition programme, the airline may launch a service to the Philippines capital with an Airbus A-330 aircraft, the source said, adding this could start either from Mumbai or Delhi.
"We are leasing two Airbus A-330 aircraft next month and plan to deploy one of them in the proposed Manila route. The other one is expected to be used for servicing the Gulf sector including Dammam," the source said.
Jet Airways currently has 12 A-330s in its fleet, besides Boeing 777s, 737s and turboprop ATR planes.
On the domestic front, the airline is also mulling enhancing connectivity to the northeast by operating a few hopping flights in the region, the source said.
"We will also enhance connectivity to the northeast with a few hopping flights in the region."
Jet would permanently station an ATR to service these hopping flights, they said, adding Dimapur, Silchar and Bagdogra would be among the destinations to be serviced by the turboprop aircraft.
Besides, the premier private carrier also plans to upgrade its operations out of Pune and by replacing ATR with a Boeing B-737 aircraft to cater to the growing demand on sectors like Pune-Bangalore and Pune-Hyderabad.