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☆ A $200 Russian smartphone aiming to replace the iPhone isn't getting much love — fewer than 1,000 units have been sold since its debut
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's AYYA T1 smartphone has sold just 905 units since its October 2021 launch, per Vedomosti. Russia's smartphone market is dominated by Chinese brands, with Xiaomi in the lead, per Statista. The AYYA T1 smartphone — touted as a homegrown alternative to the iPhone — hasn't been very popular. That's about 18% of the 5,000 AYYA T1 smartphones produced for the Russian market so far, per Vedomosti. Russian officials touted the AYYA T1 as a potential alternative to Apple's iPhone, the Moscow Times reported on March 23.

☆ Apple's smart goggles could be the shot in the arm the whole industry needs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Apple is reportedly launching its Reality Pro smart goggles in June, combining VR and AR. Smart goggles are a tough market, with Google and Microsoft hitting major roadblocks in their efforts. Apple Watch paved the wayFor example, smart watches were out for years before the Apple Watch turned up. It took the Apple Watch to bring the concept into the mainstream. The market for headsets is arguably in a similar situation as the pre-Apple smart watch industry.

☆ TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew got his start in tech at Facebook—now his app is its biggest competitor
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Ashton Jackson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Prior to running the most popular social media app in the world, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was an intern for one of his largest competitors. On Thursday, Chew sat before Congress to defend TikTok against spying claims as Congress and President Biden weigh a potential U.S. ban. "We are committed to [being] very transparent with our users about what we collect," Chew told the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Today, Facebook has 2.9 billion active users, according to Meta's 2022 Q4 earnings presentation. "The potential security, privacy, content manipulation concerns raised about TikTok are really not unique to us.

☆ India's travel industry may not overtake China soon but there are still 'massive' opportunities
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Charmaine Jacob | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesIndia's airline industry may be on a strong growth trajectory — but don't expect India's outbound travel to overtake China's soon, aviation analysts say. "The gap between China and India is huge," Lalitya Dhavala, valuations consultant at travel analytics firm Cirium told CNBC. India's robust growth trajectoryThe analysts agree there's potential for growth in India's domestic and international travel market. In comparison to China, India has a larger share of young adults, with 40% of its population under 25 years old, Dhavala said. Late last year, Indian conglomerate Tata Group announced that Vistara will merge with national carrier Air India by March 2024.

☆ Give us your nominations: CNBC is ranking the world's top fintech companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In 2022, the fintech world took a beating, with some of the world's most richly valued companies seeing their valuations slashed. CNBC and independent research firm Statista are working together to identify the world's top fintech companies, to be named in a published CNBC report in August. In 2022, the fintech world took a beating. That has made the need for a transparent overview of the top fintech companies more important than ever. As part of the research, we are inviting entries from eligible fintech companies to register their interest in being considered for the list.

☆ How to make $10,000 a month or more on OnlyFans, according to creators
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

From DMs to personalized content, here's how creators make $10,000 a month or more on OnlyFans. Ami Gan, the company's CEO, said in October 2022 that OnlyFans had paid out $10 billion to creators since its founding in 2016, and that the platform had over 2 million creators. Read more about how seven OnlyFans creators established their pricing strategiesDirect messaging: Some creators build their presence on OnlyFans based on the direct communication they establish with their fans and on connecting with them on a personal level through messaging. Promo "shoutouts": Creators rely on marketing tactics to get new customers, like buying and selling "shoutouts" from each other to advertise on OnlyFans and on other social-media platforms. How 6 OnlyFans creators built their incomes to over $10,000 per month:How 3 OnlyFans creators are making over $100,000 per month:

☆ 'My call sign is 'Grandad.'' The retirees who are frontline fighters for Ukraine against the Russian invaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Some volunteer fighters in Ukraine are considerably older than the average age of a typical soldier. 63-year-old Leonid Onyschenko, for example, is fighting for Ukraine near the city of Bakhmut. While the classic image of a soldier in battle evokes a fit young person with a chiseled jawline, the diverse volunteer fighters in Ukraine defy this expectation. The Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) — a volunteer military reserve — said that Onyshchenko had been serving the country for nine years since Russia's invasion and illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. Many of the older volunteers the news outlet spoke to appeared eager to stay in eastern Ukraine at the time.

☆ 31% of new cars sold for above sticker price last month. These 10 models have the biggest premiums
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Sarah O'Brien | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An estimated 31% of new vehicles were sold above MSRP last month, according to a joint forecast from J.D. On average, new autos are priced 8.8% above the manufacturer's suggested retail price, or MSRP, according to new research from iSeeCars.com. The biggest premiums paid are for luxury vehiclesAs for which cars are priced the most above MSRP: Most of them are luxury models, according to the iSeeCars study. Coming in first for the highest premium is the Genesis GV70, whose average price of $56,476 is 27.5% above an MSRP of $44,299. For instance, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 comes with an average price of $50,116, which is 1.9% below an MSRP of $51,103.

☆ Photos show how cruising has changed over the last century, evolving into a $7 billion industry carrying nearly 30 million every year
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Between 2009 and 2019, the number of people going on cruises steadily increased each year from 17.8 million to 29.7 million, according to Statista— until COVID sent those numbers crashing down. A drone image shows decommissioned cruise ships being dismantled at Aliaga ship-breaking yard in the Aegean port city of Izmir, western Turkey, October 2, 2020. REUTERS/Umit BektasSource: Statista, Cruise Lines International Association

☆ Turkey fines TikTok 1.75 mln lira for weak data protection measures
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, March 1 (Reuters) - Turkish authorities have fined TikTok 1.75 million lira ($93,000) for not taking sufficient measures to protect users from unlawful processing of their data, the Personal Data Protection Board (KVKK) said on Wednesday. The fine comes amid growing international concern over the Chinese short video-sharing app and who accesses its user data. The KVKK said it had decided to fine the company for "not taking all necessary measures to ensure the appropriate level of security to prevent unlawful processing of personal data." The data protection authority also said in a statement on its website that TikTok should translate its Terms of Service into Turkish and update its privacy and cookies policy texts in line with the country's regulations. Turkey has the ninth most users of TikTok in the world, with some 30 million accounts on the social media platform, data from Statista showed.

☆ MSC, world's biggest shipping company and U.S.-China trade bellwether, isn't talking like a recession is coming for economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"The return post-Chinese New Year has been positive," Toft said. SONAR FreightWaves data shows the slow pick up in global freight orders post-Chinese New Year. Ocean freight rates, which were the largest inflationary pressure on products, have dropped sharply back to pre-pandemic levels. Rejections for ocean freight have increased, which means containers filled with product for the current or upcoming season are delayed. At a time when ocean carriers are increasingly canceling sailings because of the decrease in ocean freight orders, MSC has responded by increasing the size of its fleet.

[1/5] An employee prepares online grocery orders in the storage area of Czech online grocer Rohlik Group in Prague, Czech Republic February 1, 2023. HUGE GROWTH POTENTIAL Rohlik, founded in 2014, leads the Czech market by mainly targeting customers in big cities through its string of distribution warehouses. "Competition is still mainly driven by stationary retail but a small number of online grocery players are gearing up in each market to become leading e-grocery platforms." KOSIK TURNS EASTAs Rohlik bets on Germany, Kosik is looking eastward, entering the Slovak market and expanding in Bulgaria. CEO Ivan Utesil said the company would also seek to cut into Czech market share by capitalising on its tie-in with German wholesaler Metro (B4B.DE) in some regional areas.

☆ Motorola shows off a rollable smartphone with a screen that can extend vertically
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

BARCELONA — Motorola is showing off a concept smartphone that rolls out as a user slides it up. The phone, which is being featured at the Mobile World Congress tech conference in Barcelona, has a flexible five-inch display that extends to 6.5 inches when pushed upward. The phone is at an early concept stage, and there's no telling how much it will cost. Motorola is no longer the major mobile industry player it once was — the company shipped 51 million units in 2021, according to Statista data. The design at least shows innovation in a market that has struggled to come up with new features to get consumers excited.

☆ People magazine offered voluntary resignation packages alongside January layoffs, and now insiders say rumors are swirling of more staff cuts ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The resignations, in exchange for severance packages, were offered the same day Dotdash Meredith laid off 7% of staff. In January, Dotdash Meredith cut 7% of its headcount during a difficult squeeze for the media industry, as ad spending has tumbled amid an uncertain economy. Dan Wakeford, a 7-year veteran of the publication who had served as editor-in-chief since 2019, departed last year after the formation of Dotdash Meredith under IAC. Severance pay will be paid in installments on the regular biweekly payroll schedule. KandisDo you work at People magazine or Dotdash Meredith and have insight to share?

☆ Super Bowl ad hits feature 'The Flash', Disney as automakers pull back
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Auto ads, usually among the most popular during the Super Bowl, were mostly absent this year in another sign of reduced spending by automakers grappling with a tough economy and shrinking consumer wallets. Data from research firm Edo showed that Warner Bros Discovery's (WBD.O) 45-second "The Flash" trailer with two Batmans - Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck - was 24 times more effective than the median Super Bowl LVII ad. The Super Bowl is one of the most lucrative hours for advertisers hoping to grab the attention of over a 100 million people watching the game. On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs secured a dramatic 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles to claim their second Super Bowl victory in four years. The average cost of a 30-second Super Bowl spot this year was about $7 million, an 84% surge from ten years ago, data from Statista showed.

☆ A federal judge accused Facebook of 'gaslighting' users impacted by data breaches and fined the site and its lawyers nearly $1 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Facebook and its lawyers have been fined $925,078 as part of an ongoing class action lawsuit. A judge said in a ruling that Facebook spent years "trying to gaslight" the court about its conduct. "It's almost as if Facebook and Gibson Dunn spent the better part of three years trying to gaslight their opponents, not to mention the Court." "And hopefully, this ruling will create some incentive for Facebook and Gibson Dunn (and perhaps even others) to behave more honorably moving forward." Gibson Dunn lawyers listed in the suit and representatives for Facebook did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

In this article MSFT Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTAn attendee interacts with the AI-powered Microsoft Bing search engine and Edge browser during an event at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, US, on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023. Microsoft unveiled new versions of its Bing internet-search engine and Edge browser powered by the newest technology from ChatGPT maker OpenAI. When that prompt is entered into ChatGPT, the OpenAI tool generates three bulleted lists detailing examples of German Expressionism in film, music and literature. Bing not only presents lists of cinema, music, and literature representing German Expressionism, but it also gives users extra context about the artistic movement. At times the Bing chatbot opted not to do things that ChatGPT would do.

☆ Indonesia's seafood farming industry faces a 'technology gap' — and startups are raising big bucks to fill it
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

And we are third in aquaculture production after China and India. Aquaculture production and exports by country in 2020 Aquaculture (animals, not including algae) Top producing countries in 2020 Top exporting countries in 2020 1. Aruna, for its part, helps to connect Indonesia's small-scale aquaculture farmers to buyers. Indonesia has the puzzle pieces to become a global leader in aquaculture and seafood production. "Indonesia has the puzzle pieces to become a global leader in aquaculture and seafood production.

☆ At least 5 Russian men who escaped conscription have been living in Seoul's airport for months, and their refugee status still hangs in the balance: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

At least five Russian men have been living in South Korea's Incheon airport for months. The men told The Post their lives are hanging in the balance: Seoul could still reject their asylum appeal. But I feel this conflict is extremely political," Maraktaev told The Post. Maraktaev then managed to get a flight to South Korea, and he finally landed in Incheon on November 12. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, most of the refugees given a humanitarian visa in South Korea are from Syria and Yemen.

Moeller-Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co. created the so-called 2M alliance in 2015 to help them reduce costs by sharing cargo on major ocean routes. Rivals formed similar partnerships, creating the Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance. Global trade volumes fell 9.5% year over year in November 2022, according to London-based Container Trade Statistics, and global shipping rates have been sliding at a steep pace since early last year. He said the winding down of 2M raised questions over the future of the other two alliances, Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance. So the in-transit issues and all the penalties have pretty much faded away.”Target said in an email that it renegotiates its shipping rates regularly.

☆ It's not just you — Wikipedia looks different
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Wikipedia got its first desktop interface update in over a decade that includes improved search. Here's how the old Wikipedia page for Taylor Swift looked:Screenshot of old version of Taylor Swift's Wikipedia page. WikipediaAnd here's how Taylor Swift's page looks like in the new redesign:Screenshot of Taylor Swift's redesigned Wikipedia page including a search bar at the top and a table of contents on the left side. Over 30 different volunteer groups around the globe worked with Wikimedia Foundation on developing and testing the new interface. The nonprofit used global research and feedback from Wikipedia users as well.

☆ Crypto tokens were once considered a fast track to riches for Web3 startup founders. Now some aren't bothering to launch them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Crypto tokens were once a quick way for Web3 founders to cash in. Just over a year ago, Web3 startups regularly raised money by selling their own cryptocurrencies directly to the public. But now, the crypto crash has made it an inauspicious time for them to launch tokens. Common has since postponed its token launch indefinitely. Georgen said that his aspirations to launch tokens weren't primarily motivated by cashing in.

☆ Sex, art theft, and privacy: Lensa exploded overnight — and now the avatar app is dealing with public backlash. Here's what you should know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Lensa is facing criticism since the AI app exploded in popularity at the end of 2022. The Lensa app is behind those avatars. LensaAllegations of stealing from artistsJust as quickly as Lensa avatars became ubiquitous online, allegations of theft and warnings from artists also emerged. The law community "would welcome additional guidance from policymakers and courts when it comes to protecting consumers in connection with AI," Torres said. "The flood of Lensa avatars feel cheap and overwhelming," Pilat said in a statement shared with Insider.

☆ Pepsi is replacing Sierra Mist with Starry — a new lemon-lime soda designed to rival Sprite and win over Gen Z
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

PepsiCo is replacing Sierra Mist with Starry, a new lemon-lime soda. Starry has a "more balanced, cleaner, crisp finish than Sierra Mist," a spokesperson told Insider. The beverage serves as a fresh opportunity to compete with market leader Sprite. PepsiCo said Starry will soon debut a national television campaign and appear at major sports and entertainment events as well. But whether Starry's flavor packs enough punch to compete with Sprite, only time will tell.

☆ Canada has banned non-Canadians from buying houses to try to fix the country's wildly expensive housing crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

There are some exceptions to the rule, including for refugees and temporary work permit holders. It's intended to ease the housing crisis, as Canadian homes are some of the most expensive in the world. "The desirability of Canadian homes is attracting profiteers, wealthy corporations, and foreign investors," Trudeau's campaign website said last year, according to CNN Business. But some critics are skeptical that the ban will have any real effect on easing the housing crisis. "The potential benefits of the ban are likely to be modest," The Canadian Real Estate Association said in a statement, according to CNN Business.

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