Muchchatagaa-mugguram

Apple with processors that will make the next generation of iPhones tick, bolstering a rival in the process.

Apple is understandably giddy about its success.

The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus show that consumers were desperate for larger Apple handsets, to the point where they seem to be choosing them over ailing iPads.

The struggles of Apple’s tablet are well documented, but with consumers opting for iPhones instead, Apple won’t be too disheartened. Its margins on phones are bigger than on tablets after all.

The challenge for Apple now is to match those results or at least stay the course.

That could prove impossible seeing as the 2015 iPhone update is expected to be iterative, although the Apple Watch is likely to give it extra cachet over the coming months.

But having seen Samsung come up on the rails before, Apple will be acutely aware of the need to keep innovating.

This is a company that was dismissed in some quarters after Steve Jobs’ death. Now it’s bigger than ever before.

For Samsung, there’s everything to play for.

But if it has another awful year, expect pens to be sharpened and more comparisons to be made with the struggles of the likes of HTC in recent years.

The days of it trying to be all things to all people are surely numbered.

Panthulama Tho Dengulata(Telugu Kathalu)

It seems that moving home a few miles, sometimes even in the same city, can save an average American quite a packet on car insurance coverage.

Some more interesting factors are coming to light going by reports from the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

According to the report, there are high variations in insurance rates charged by insurers on vehicle owners; rates are based on factors completely unrelated to driving such as area of residing, education level, occupation and credit score. Such factor-based calculations make it virtually impossible for less-income residents of many states unable to afford insurance coverage. At last estimates, the number of uninsured drivers and vehicles average more than 200,000 in a state like Maryland, for instance.

The report also mentions that insurers establish coverage rates in accordance with state laws and risk factors which vary. For e.g. a city resident will pay more insurance because it is likely that his car is at more risk of being involved in an accident, being vandalized or stolen; in each of these cases claims will be filed with the insurance company.

A CFA Director is on record to say that insurance providers are always on the lookout for 'actuarial links' between potential risk elements and certain types of policy holders. He says that these companies try to price the policies to reflect the potential risk; the auto industry has access to a lot of customer data just as other businesses do in respect of potential customers.