U.S. Department of labor U.S. Bureau of Labor Statitistics. Employment Situation March 2014

U.S. Trade Gap Widens, Spurring Downshift in GDP Projections

          The Wall Street Journal reports,"the nation's exports declined 1.1% to $190.43 billion, while imports rose 0.4% to $232.73 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday. As a result, the nation's trade gap widened 7.7% to $42.3 billion, more than the $38.6 billion gap forecast by economists. It was the largest trade deficit since September".

February's export decline followed a 0.6% gain in January. That suggests the surge in overseas sales that helped boost economic growth late last year was likely unsustainable. Growth in China is slowing while Europe's recovery remains fragile, tempering demand for U.S. exports.

The report triggered a spate of downward revisions to first-quarter growth estimates, which had already come down substantially due to economic disruptions caused by unusually cold and stormy weather.

Macroeconomic Advisers lowered its first-quarter growth forecast to a 0.9% annual growth rate from 1.4% previously. Morgan Stanley  lowered its forecast to a 1.2% pace from 1.5%. Economists at Royal Bank of Scotland lowered their forecast to a 0.6% annual growth rate from 1.2% previously.

February's meager import growth provided new evidence of weak spending by U.S. consumers and businesses in the early part of the year. Domestic demand looks even weaker after adjusting the import data for inflation. Stripping out the effect of higher prices for petroleum and other products, imports fell slightly. Imports of capital goods, industrial supplies and petroleum products all declined. Imports of crude oil fell to $19.5 billion, the lowest level since late 2010, a reflection of expanded domestic energy production.

The U.S. economy trade data showed also some signs of strengthening in March. Recent data showed auto sales surging to one of the strongest rates in years after weakening in January and February, while manufacturing activity strengthened. According to a survey of purchasing managers by the Institute for Supply Management, March manufacturing output rebounded from multiyear lows in February, new orders rose and export orders picked up.

A bout of financial volatility in emerging markets early in the year has subsided, providing a more stable outlook that should help support U.S. exports.

But challenges remain for the global backdrop. China's growth engine is downshifting. Many economists believe Europe risks entering a period of deflation. And tensions with Russia over Ukraine could further harm the global economy.

U.S. exports to the European Union in February were down 2.5% from January, while exports to China were 4.6% lower.

"The recovery is taking hold, but is too slow," Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said in a speech Wednesday. "Unless countries come together to take the right kind of policy measures, we could be facing years of slow and subpar growth."

U.S. adds 192,000 jobs in March; unemployment 6.7%

The U.S. created 192,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7%, the result of more than a half-million people joining the labor force in search of work, according to Labor Department figuresissued Friday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected an increase of 200,000 nonfarm jobs. In March, hiring was strongest in the professional ranks and at bars and restaurants. Manufacturing shed 1,000 jobs but was the only sector to do so. Average hourly wages, meanwhile, dipped 1 cent to $24.30 after several strong gains. And the average workweek jumped 0.2 hours to 34.5 hours, matching a post-recession high. The labor-force participation rate moved up to 63.2% from 63%, as 503,000 people searched for work, a sign that they think more jobs are available. Employment gains for February and January were revised higher by a combined 37,000. The number of new jobs created in February was raised to 197,000 from 175,000, while January's figure was increased to 144,000 from 129,000.

Source:  Marketwatch

After stellar start to new year, Xiaomi ups 2014 sales target to 60 million

Xiaomi founder Lei Jun is spewing out more numbers than the Count in Sesame Street today. After saying that Xiaomi plans to sell 100 million smartphones next year, the phone-maker boss revealed that the upstart company has already shipped a stellar 11 million smartphones in the first quarter of this year – that’s more than half of its sales for the whole of 2013. ‘Shipments’ don’t equate to sales, but it shows that Xiaomi is off to a rocketing start to 2014. So much so that Lei Jun has revised his sales target for the year from 40 million to 60 million.

For a sense of scale, Xiaomi sold 18.7 million of its Android-powered smartphones in 2013, and 7.2 million back in 2012. Xiaomi’s numbers this year will be boosted by sales in its newest market, Singapore. Lei Jun may also have in mind future launches across Southeast Asia. Xiaomi said back in February that it’s looking into India, Indonesia, Thailand, and a few other emerging markets, but it hasn’t yet singled out its next launch market.


Source: TECHINASIA

HTC One (M8) vs. iPhone 5s

If there's a company that can challenge, if not top, Apple's standing as the leader in smartphone design, it's HTC. Last year's HTC One and the newHTC One (M8) just might be the two most beautiful mobile devices ever made. What happens when you put the One M8's features and specs next to those of the iPhone 5s? Read on, as Gizmag breaks it down.
Size


Weight


Build


Colors


Display


Finger Print Censor



Motion Launch



Battery


Processor


RAM


Software


Release


Source: Gizmag

Tech makes this Corvette one for the ages

The Good From engine to suspension, through the steering and differential, the 2014

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray makes use of tech to enhance performance. The exterior design is breathtaking, and clever LCD instrumentation lets the driver customize information. The Bose audio system pumps the bass yet produces a clean sound.

The Bad The cabin tech interface was confusing, with convoluted means of accessing music libraries, audio sources, and map features. The Stingray wasn't well-suited for heavy traffic.

The Bottom Line Among the long line of Corvette models, the Stingray feels like something special, a thoroughbred sports car for the 21st century that must be put on the track to be really enjoyed.

While impressive that the Corvette model has been in continuous production for over 60 years, more astounding is the lack of a slacker in its seven generations. You might decry the crippled power output of some mid-70s models, or sniff a little at the C4's design. But none of these could really be called bad. So Chevy faced an uphill battle designing the 2014 Corvette, the C7, for seventh generation.

The company felt it did so well with the C7 that it is called the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray; the Stingray name having only been applied to two previous generations.

Corvettes of recent past, while they looked good on the outside, relied on GM's parts bin for cabin appointments. But the new Stingray looks and feels much improved, with a tastefully appointed cockpit with high-tech flourishes, such as a head-up display and an LCD instrument cluster. One thing that survived the redesign was a faint hint of epoxy mixing with the new car smell.

As before, the body panels are made of a composite material, although the hood and roof are carbon fiber. Chevy designed the new Corvette Stingray on an aluminum frame, which combines lightness and incredible rigidity. Weight comes in at a mere 3,300 pounds.

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The Good From engine to suspension, through the steering and differential, the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray makes use of tech to enhance performance. The exterior design is breathtaking, and clever LCD instrumentation lets the driver customize information. The Bose audio system pumps the bass yet produces a clean sound.

The Bad The cabin tech interface was confusing, with convoluted means of accessing music libraries, audio sources, and map features. The Stingray wasn't well-suited for heavy traffic.

The Bottom Line Among the long line of Corvette models, the Stingray feels like something special, a thoroughbred sports car for the 21st century that must be put on the track to be really enjoyed.

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While impressive that the Corvette model has been in continuous production for over 60 years, more astounding is the lack of a slacker in its seven generations. You might decry the crippled power output of some mid-70s models, or sniff a little at the C4's design. But none of these could really be called bad. So Chevy faced an uphill battle designing the 2014 Corvette, the C7, for seventh generation.

The company felt it did so well with the C7 that it is called the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray; the Stingray name having only been applied to two previous generations.

In looks, the Stingray certainly seems worthy of its title. I could walk around and around it, appreciating the clever mix of curves and angles, the long nose and sharp front fenders, the vents fore and aft, the way the cab rises and rakes back. I could call out the taillights for their Camaro-ish look, but then my eye was drawn to the center-mounted quad exhaust tips.

Corvettes of recent past, while they looked good on the outside, relied on GM's parts bin for cabin appointments. But the new Stingray looks and feels much improved, with a tastefully appointed cockpit with high-tech flourishes, such as a head-up display and an LCD instrument cluster. One thing that survived the redesign was a faint hint of epoxy mixing with the new car smell.

As before, the body panels are made of a composite material, although the hood and roof are carbon fiber. Chevy designed the new Corvette Stingray on an aluminum frame, which combines lightness and incredible rigidity. Weight comes in at a mere 3,300 pounds.

Chevy felt the new Corvette was good enough to earn the appellation 'Stingray.'Josh Miller/CNET

Five flavors of drive
On the Stingray's console sits a mode selector, a simple dial that takes the car through five settings: Weather, Eco, Touring, Sport, and Track. Each mode can set up to 12 performance parameters, everything from throttle sensitivity and the stability program, to exhaust note and the look of the instrument cluster. And you can customize some of the parameters for each mode, choosing, for example, how the mode will affect the steering.

When cruising down the freeway, Eco and Touring felt very similar. However, Eco engages cylinder deactivation, which runs the Stingray's 6.2-liter V-8 on just four cylinders, and reverting to all eight when I hit the gas. As another means of helping fuel economy, the seven-speed manual transmission shunts the shifter from second to fifth in a casual upshift, a trick Chevy has used before. These tricks earn the Stingray an EPA-rated 17 mpg city and 29 mpg highway, the latter remarkable for a car of its power. In a mix of driving modes, I turned in 20.2 mpg.

The Stingray I was driving came with Chevy's Magnetic Selective Ride Control technology, an optional adaptive suspension that changes the damper response based on sensor information and the driver-selected program. Both Eco and Touring modes use the suspension's most comfortable setting, which I wouldn't call soft. The car always felt sports-car stiff, but the ride was just a tad compliant in these modes. Likewise, the throttle was easier to modulate when slogging through stop-and-go traffic, and the electric power steering assumed a light feel.

Twisting the dial to Sport, the Stingray felt like it was coming into its own. The exhaust assumed a more thunderous note, while the ride and steering stiffened up. The throttle mapping change was subtle, and not so sensitive that I couldn't keep a steady speed crawling along behind a truck going uphill. If I didn't feel a need to test out the other drive modes, and give the fuel economy a fair shake, I would have left it in Sport all the time.

Track mode stiffened the suspension so much as to be uncomfortable. This level of rigidity doesn't work so well on public roads, where little bumps and imperfections can bounce the car off-course. Track mode was designed for well-maintained race courses, where the Stingray won't have to deal with five years worth of county paving crew neglect.

Weather mode detunes the torque, good for preventing the tires from spinning at every start on a wet road.

The Stingray finds its element on twisty mountain roads.Josh Miller/CNET

I had far too much time driving the Stingray in heavy traffic. Like any car with a lot of power and manual transmission, it wasn't fun under these circumstances. I wouldn't want to use this car as a commuter. There was also quite a bit of road noise, making me question how enjoyable it would be on a road trip. And the steering rack felt like it was binding when I had the wheels cranked at maximum for parking lot maneuvers, resulting in an uncomfortable rolling thump-thump.

The fun came when hitting the gas for a fast take-off, and on winding mountain roads.

From the driver's seat, the nose, marked by the fender ridges, looked wide. But the steering wheel guided the front with perfection. I could feel the rigidity of the frame and how it aided turn-in. It only took a little steering wheel input to guide the car around, and then it followed with precision. Going around a sweeper, I could feel the electronic limited slip differential do its thing, maintaining power from the rear at each vector of turn.

There's a ton of grip here, especially with the Z51 Performance Package, which ups the wheel size by an inch, putting 19-inch wheels in front and 20-inch wheels in back, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sports. At $2,800, the Z51 package is a bargain, as it also brings in upgraded brakes, a dry sump oil system, and the aforementioned limited slip differential. The adaptive suspension is an additional option, but well worth it.

Source: CNET

China takes first step to steady economic growth

China acted for the first time this year to steady its stumbling economy by cutting taxes for small firms on Wednesday and announcing plans to speed up the construction of railway lines.

The Chinese cabinet said after its weekly meeting that it will accelerate the construction of rail projects that have been approved, and increase the total length of lines being laid this year by 18 percent compared to 2013.

The government also said it would lower tax rates for smaller companies by relaxing the criteria that allows them to halve their income taxes. This policy will be extended to the end of 2016, the government said.

The measures mark the first concrete action being taken by China this year to boost its economy, and come after Premier Li Keqiang last week sought to reassure jittery markets that Beijing was ready to provide support. [ID:nL4N0MP0CQ]

Flagging growth has unnerved global investors and fuelled speculation about a modest stimulus package to boost activity.

Two surveys of China's vast manufacturing sector showed this week that factories faced persistent headwinds in March, raising fears that the economy may be cooling much faster than thought. [ID:nL4N0MT0AA]

"We will find innovative ways including fiscal and financial methods to...steady economic growth," the cabinet said in a statement on the government's website.

The Chinese government said in March that it aims to grow the economy by around 7.5 percent this year, and a minority of analysts believe growth will ultimately fall short of 7.5 percent.

Increased construction of railway lines will foster investment, the biggest driver of China's economy, and which is rising at its slowest rate in at least a decade as the country moves towards consumption-driven growth.

The railway investment will be partly financed by bank loans, the government said. Authorities will also create an annual fund worth 200 billion yuan ($32.2 billion) to 300 billion yuan each year that is open to private investors.

For this year, the government will also sell 150 billion yuan worth of bonds to pay for over 6,600 kilometres of new railway track.

Railway projects in China gained infamy in recent years for their rife corruption and heavy debt load - problems that culminated in a series of corruption scandals at the Ministry of Railways that led to its dissolving in March 2013.

Projects are now overseen by China Railway Corp, which won approval on Tuesday to sell 150 billion yuan worth of bonds, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. 

Source: Reuters

Windows 8.1 update fixes many common issues

The latest update to Windows 8 will be available on April 8 and brings much-needed tweaks for desktop users, restoring some of the features Windows users have been missing since the Metro interface first launched.

First and foremost, the OS now detects whether you're using a tablet or desktop and mouse setup, and delivers the best experience for your device. This means that upon launch, if you're on a desktop computer, the OS will boot straight to the desktop, and on a tablet, you'll get the touchable tiles of Microsoft's modern interface. But don't worry if you prefer the way Windows currently behaves; you still have the option to choose your startup preferences in the settings.

One of the biggest complaints about Windows 8 was the loss of the Start Button as we knew it in previous versions of Windows. Windows 8.1 brought back the Start Button for some functions, but still didn't offer many of the most used features in older Windows versions. Now, with the Windows 8.1 Update, you get a mash up of both the traditional Start Button view and the live tiles. So, with a click you can now get recently opened apps, your documents folder, and other common options found in older versions of the Start Menu, but on the right, you get the live tiles from the modern interface. It seems like a good compromise between the two, and I like that it doesn't completely remove you from the desktop any longer.

Microsoft also made some changes with full-screen apps making them a lot more intuitive for desktop users and more in line with the history of the Windows OS. Full screen apps now (once again) have a title bar at the top, with the X in the upper right so you can quit out of an app easily with a click of your mouse.

With the modern interface out of the way on your desktop, it makes sense that Microsoft would find a way to make the Windows Store more accessible. Now, with this latest update, the Windows Store is automatically pinned to the taskbar on your desktop.

Source: CNET

Mercedes Benz New S-Class takes the lead with self-driving tech

The Good Mammoth cabin space and smooth ride quality make the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S550's cabin the place to be, whether in front or back. LED lights and big LCD dashboard panels keep the tech ahead of the pack. A new Steering Assist feature eases driving in heavy traffic.

The Bad App integration loads too slowly for general use. Virtual instrument gauges look a little flat, and it needs a graphic fuel gauge.

The Bottom Line Mercedes-Benz takes a big step forward with its 2014 S550 flagship sedan, improving just about every feature in this model update, but app integration suffers from slow connection times.

Given its size (over 17 feet), powerful engine, and loads of tech, it is certainly worthy of more than one nickname.

Mercedes-Benz's flagship S-Class luxury sedan has been facing stiff competition, from the Audi A8 to even the Hyundai Equus . The company obviously couldn't rest on its laurels, especially considering the much lower prices of a few other big, luxury rollers.

The 2014 S550 shows that Mercedes-Benz took the threat seriously, and designed a car that will force other luxury sedan makers back to their drawing boards. Along with redesigned bodywork, a huge cabin, large LCD panels for instruments and cabin tech, and fuel economy technology, Mercedes-Benz adds an innovative steering-assistance feature that will ease driving and bring the S550 one step closer to being an autonomous car.

  Source: CNET

2014 Audi A7 TDI :Efficient diesel engine meets connected tech

The Good A diesel drivetrain gives the 2014 Audi A7 TDI impressive fuel economy for a large car. Connected features include Google local search and Google Earth integrated with navigation. Bang & Olufsen audio delivers detailed and balanced music reproduction.

The Bad The A7 TDI requires additional maintenance in the form of 10,000 mile AdBlue fill-ups. Audi's proprietary audio port requires adapter cables for external devices; a standard USB port would be preferable.

The Bottom Line The 2014 Audi A7 TDI includes some of the best connected tech available today in an automobile, and those inclined to put up with a few diesel drivetrain quirks will be rewarded with significantly higher fuel economy than from the gasoline equivalent.

In heavy traffic on the freeway, I let the 2014 Audi A7 TDI's cruise control handle braking and accelerating, and gave lane-keeping assist a try by letting the car drift over to the left lane line. Cruise control, using its radar to track the car ahead, unerringly handled stop-and-go without my intervention. And before the car crossed the lane line, the camera-based lane assist moved the wheel under my light grip, steering the A7 TDI back into its own lane.

Was I experiencing a glimpse of our autonomous driving future?

Not exactly, as the pull on the steering wheel sent the car on a drift toward the right lane line, from which it also corrected. If I let it have its way, I figured it would drunkenly weave back and forth between the lines, then get completely thrown off by the first serious curve or faded line paint. The A7 TDI's radar and cameras made it dimly aware of its surroundings, but true autonomy requires more sophisticated sensors.

Despite not exactly being the future of self-driving, the A7 has been a high-tech showcase for Audi since its launch in 2010, not to mention having an excellent body design that became much copied. For 2014, the A7 adds some driver assistance features, but its connected infotainment system is largely the same as before.

Source: CNET

Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 arrives in 7, 8 and 10-inch sizes

Just what the world needs: more Samsung tablets. Samsung has officially announced the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4, a new line of mid-range Android tablets in 7, 8 and 10-inch sizes.

All three are powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core processor and Android 4.4 KitKat software. They connect to the Web via 4G, with 3G versions for the 10 and 7-inch models that will probably save you a few pennies. Prices and release dates are yet to be confirmed.

Each Tab 4 has 16GB of storage on board, or you can opt for an 8GB version of the 7-inch model.

The trio all include a 3-megapixel snapper coupled with a low-resolution camera for video chat. The tablets come decked out in a choice of black or white cases.

All three models boast a 1,280x800 screen, which means the smallest 7-inch model has the best pixel density: 215 pixels per inch, compared to the 8-incher's 188ppi or the 10-incher's 149ppi.

Source: CNET

U.S. Census Bureau News. U.S. Department of Commerce: New Orders for Manufatured Goods

Apple brings 4G-enabled iPad Air and iPad Mini to China

China’s shoppers got the newest iPhone and iPad models on their global launch day – for the first time ever – on November 1. But the 3G and 4G iPads were left out of the fun. But today (no, not an April Fool’s) the cellular-enabled versions of the iPad Air and iPad Mini with Retina display have arrived in mainland China. Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Chinese website and online store have been updated with the newest additions. The iPad Air with 3G/4G starts at RMB 4,488 (US$727) for the 16GB model, while the new, Retina-screen iPad Mini starts at RMB 3,788 (US$613).

All these new iPad models only support TD-LTE 4G, which is China’s homegrown LTE protocol that’s being used by all three of China’s telcos on their fledgling 4G networks. However, buyers should beware that two Chinese telcos – China Unicom and China Telecom – will focus on FDD-LTE networks once the relevant regulatory approval for FDD-LTE has been issued. China flipped the switch on its (still partial) nationwide 4G network in mid-December. Apple’s iPhone 5s and 5c launched on China Mobile’s 4G network a month later.

Source: TencentTech

GLOBAL MOBILE INTERNET CONFERENCE Beijing gears up for its biggest conference yet (promo)

The annual Global Mobile Internet Conference (GMIC) in Beijing is one of the most influential mobile industry conferences on the continent. This May 5 and 6, the conference will bring over 10,000 attendees ranging from CEOs to developers to investors. (Disclosure: Tech in Asia is a media partner of GMIC.) This year’s speakers include Yuri Milner, Founder of DST Global; Pony Ma, CEO of Tencent; Dave Morin, CEO of Path; Charles Chao, CEO of Sina; Naveen Tewari, CEO of InMobi; Chen Haozhi, CEO of Chukong; Yu Yongfu, CEO of UCWeb; Lei Jun, CEO of Xiaomi; Hugo Barra, VP of Xiaomi; and Isao Moriyasu, CEO of DeNA. This year, the conference will focus on wearable devices, mobile internet financing, and mobile entertainment content.

Source: TECHINASIA

Qraved: Jakarta diners spent $1.5 billion on dining out in 2013 (INFOGRAPHIC)

Indonesia’s social dining directory and online reservation service Qraved today published a fun infographic about food – more specifically, about Jakarta citizens’ dining behavior. The infographic reveals just how social Jakarta diners are. These diners are most active on Twitter, followed by Facebook, Instagram, and then Path. These users made an approximate 40 million online searches about restaurants to dine at food promotions in 2013.

Qraved also estimates that Jakarta diners ate out 380 million times last year, spending a total of US$1.5 billion annually. This trend looks promising as the startup believes that the Jakarta dining industry has grown by 250 percent in the last five years. Check out the infographic below for more information on how Jakarta people like to dine out:

Sina Weibo picks NASDAQ for upcoming IPO, expects to make a loss this quarter

Sina Weibo’s US IPO – in which the Chinese social network is seeking to raise US$500 million – is still being cooked up, and today we got a few more details about what’s going on. Sina Weibo – a spin-off from Sina (NASDAQ:SINA) – has amended its form F-1 filing to show that it has chosen NASDAQ for the IPO, rather than the NYSE. The document also shows that Weibo’s stock ticker will be ‘WB’ – so it’ll be NASDAQ:WB once it goes live.

Here are a couple more new details from Weibo, as spotted by SeekingAlpha: Weibo expects a decline in revenues and a net loss in Q1 2014 – The filing explains: “While we are still in the process of preparing our financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2014, we expect our revenues in this quarter to decrease compared to the three months ended December 31, 2013, primarily due to seasonal trends. As a result, we also expect that we may incur a net loss in the three months ended March 31, 2014 as compared to the net income that we achieved in the previous quarter.” Weibo appoints Bonnie Yi Zhang as Weibo CFO – This leaves Sina’s CFO Herman Yu to concentrate just on Sina rather than also being Weibo’s acting CFO. Zhang joined Sina Weibo from AdChina earlier this year.

Source: TECHINASIA

5 indicators why Line could soon topple Facebook in Thailand

Thais really love their social networks. Thailand’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) reports that over 90 percent of web users in Thailand use social media. In addition, a mall in Bangkok is the number one most Instagrammed location in the world, while the city itself is known as Facebook’s capital city. The top three social media channels in Thailand as of last July were Facebook (92.2 percent), YouTube (63.7 percent), Line (61.1 percent). Some might argue that Line is a chat app, while Facebook is a social network. But we can’t deny that chat apps are becoming more and more like social networks, considering the design and functionalities. There’s no official information on Line’s latest local numbers yet, but we can be sure that it isn’t just waiting around to become a dominant player in Thailand. Here are some indicators that the Japan-based chat app could be taking over Facebook in Thailand: 1. Line is devoting more resources than Facebook to growing its market share While the closest Facebook office to Thailand is in Singapore, Line has just recently opened a new office in the heart of Bangkok on Sathorn road, making this the fourth office after Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Although Facebook can work remotely to support users in Thailand, a local presence shows the commitment Line has for the market. In addition, Line also announced that the company is looking to hire more people to support the team in Thailand.

2. Line is catching up with Facebook in its Thai user base Line and Facebook have very close user numbers in Thailand. According to Facebook Ads, it still leads with roughly 26 million users, while Line now has 24 million users. The gap has shrunk considerably. Line is also extremely successfull at monetizing its games platform.
 3. Line knows stickers; Facebook is clueless Admit it, Facebook is kinda late to the game with its stickers. Yes, it finally realized that emoji and stickers are one of the ways to win the hearts of Asian users. But Line has done it better and more successfully. It has already partnered with several big brands in Thailand to create special-edition stickers while Facebook is just starting to get into it. Line also knows the credit card issues that Thai people have and have begun offering alternative ways for Thai people to buy stickers. 
4. People are shopping like crazy on Line Social ecommerce is big in Thailand. Even when the country’s economy suffered from political unrest, ecommerce was one of the industries that still saw growth. Thais don’t only rely on online marketplaces like OLX to find products, they use Facebook and Instagram to browse too. Since it’s still a grey, untaxed market, there’s no absolute value on how big it is. But it’s safe to assume that any Thai on Facebook or Instagram must have seen one or two merchants trying to sell their products on these channels. Line saw this as an opportunity. It ran a flash sale that pulled in 5.5 million shoppers. It also started partnering with smaller retail startups to offer an m-commerce service to its customers. So far, there doesn’t seem to be merchants who have conducted flash sales of this scale on Facebook.
5. Facebook is no longer cool worldwide Yes, Facebook is losing its teenage audience. We’ve talked before about how the younger generation is migrating away from the world’s number one social media as our parents join the platform. The Global Web Index says that Thais are moving away from Facebook and into China-made app WeChat. However, it seems like WeChat is far from being number one in Thailand, which means, with the games and stickers, Line could be the one winning Thai teenagers’ hearts. Of course, it would be naive to say that Facebook is going away anytime soon. However, with the momentum that Line has gained in the past year, if Thailand is an important market, Mark Zuckerberg might have to re-evaluate this rival from Japan in order for it to maintain its status as the number one social media platform in the country.

Source: TECHINASIA

Hennessey gets patriotic with Venom GT “World’s Fastest Edition”

Last month, the Hennessey Performance (HPE) Venom GT skidded into the record books when it hit over 270 mph at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. To commemorate this event, as well as snatching a Guinness World Record by doing 0 to 300 km/h (186 mph) in 13.63 seconds, HPE is rolling out its very limited-run World’s Fastest Edition (WFE) Venom GT with a special livery.

On February 14, the Venom GT hit 270.49 mph (435.31 km/h) on the 3.2-mi (5.1 km) Space Shuttle runway at the Kennedy Space Center, setting a new world speed record for a production series two-seat sports car. Though the speed was independently confirmed, the run by Brian Smith, Director of Miller Motorsport Park, test driver, vehicle dynamic engineer, and authorized by NASA’s Performance Power LLC Space Act Agreement, is still unofficial because the space agency did not allow the Venom to do a second run in the opposite direction on the same day, as the rules require.

The special edition’s livery has a patriotic flair. According HPE founder John Hennessey, “The Venom GT is America’s supercar and it broke 270 mph on the same runway where the Space Shuttle landed at the Kennedy Space Center. We wanted to offer a special paint scheme that would incorporate the colors of the American flag – the same flag we flew on the Space Shuttle runway. Thus, our special livery package includes a body in white with red and blue stripes.”

The company attributes the Venom GT’s record-breaking speed to its 7.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine cranking a daft 1,244 bhp (928 kW) mounted in a car weighing only 2,743 lb (1,244 kg) for a power to weight ratio of 1 bhp/kg. The light weight of the body is due to its aluminum construction, carbon-fiber bodywork, and featherweight carbon-ceramic brakes.

If you want one of the WFE cars, you’re already out of luck. Only three are being built and they’ve all been sold for a cool US$1.25 million each.

Source: Gizmag

R/C Bullet car sets new world record of 188 mph

Everyone loves seeing a world record broken, especially when it involves exceedingly fast things. Nic Case recently set out to break his own world record for fastest R/C car, and he succeeded, pushing his Bullet car to a whopping 188.87 mph (304 km/h) – and no, that's not scaled down to the size of the car.

A while back we covered a remote control car from Traxxas that could hit 100 mph (161 km/h), which is nothing short of impressive. However, that feels like a snail's pace when compared to what Case has managed to accomplish with his car. Of course, the Traxxas XO-1 is commercially available, while the car used to achieve this world record is not one you will be able to run to your local hobby shop to acquire.

Nic Case and his team's creation barely looks like a car at all. Instead, it looks more like a futuristic spaceship cutting down the track. Really, there are no words that can truly give you the sense of the speed this tiny car reaches. Instead, check out the video below, and get a feel for just what 188 mph in a 1/10 scale R/C car feels like.

... and just to give a little context, the Jaguar F-Type R Coupe hits a top speed of about 186 mph (299 km/h), which is just slightly slower than the Bullet.

Source: Gizmag