SunnyBee Unveils India’s First Self-Checkout Grocery Store in Chennai

SunnyBee Market, a chain of food stores in Chennai has introduced India’s first-of-its-kind self-checkout store in Besant Nagar, Chennai, considering the need for a safe shopping experience by limiting contact and to improve overall speed of checkouts.

WayCool Labs – the technology arm of WayCool Foods & Products, a leading agritech firm based in Chennai has developed this custom solution for SunnyBee.

An integrated hardware and software solution, the self-checkout counter occupies a minimal 4 sq.ft. floor space with a built-in high-speed scanner, touchscreen panel, and a billing printer. The counter eliminates the need to interact with the store staff altogether. Shoppers scan their purchases on their own and place the scanned products in the conveniently hanging bags or use their own bags. With a single click on the touch screen to pay, a QR code will pop up on the screen. Customers scan this QR code on their mobile using any one of the numerous UPI payment methods such as GPay, PhonePe, Paytm, etc.

This solution frees up the store billing staff to manage the store operations and improve customer service. The only place where there is an interaction with store staff is when staff will assist the customer for F&V produce to weigh, pack, and print/paste a barcode. The F&V bags with barcode can be scanned at the Selfie counter as well.

Sriram Sridharan, Business Head, SunnyBee Market said, “There has been a steady flow of shoppers as they look to stock up during these uncertain times. Though several retailers are open through the lock down with strict enforcement of safety measures, there is a sense of uncertainty among shoppers due to multiple interactions within the store. Hence, the self-checkout solution was designed, developed, and implemented in 15 days despite the lockdown. The initial response from customers is very positive and this is evident from their excitement to use the self-checkout counter every time they walk into the store.”

SunnyBee Market, founded in July 2015, is a one-stop premium food store that offers a wide assortment of more than 5,000 SKUs across multiple categories like regular & exotic F&V, Dairy, Staples, Indian and International foods. Operating 6 stores in Chennai, SunnyBee Market also conducts SunnyBee Santhai, a farmer and consumer connect platform where farmers sell their produce directly to consumers.

New Booklet 3G from Nokia to take on Apple, Dell

Nokia started as a computer company in 1980's but sold the business in 1991 to focus on mobile phones. Now after two decades Nokia is all set to launch its booklet called "Booklet 3G" to broaden its product range to survive the tough competition in the declining mobile market.

Nokia is facing tough competition in the mobile market as many new players are now entering in the scene. Dell, Acer and Hewlett Packard (HP) are all interested to launch products in the mobile category. There are many speculations that Apple will soon be launching a tablet-type touch screen by next year. Nokia plans to take on these competitors in their own backyard with the launch of its Booklet 3G.

This booklet will mostly be mistaken for a netbook but it focuses on on-the-go networking. It is powered by a Windows operating system (not clear yet if it is Windows 7) and has a 10-inch color screen. It has both 3G and GPS functionality, as well as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi when there's a network available. It will also have access to Nokia Music store and Ovi maps. Nokia claims that the Booklet will run for 12 hours on a battery charge.

"A growing number of people want the computing power of a PC with the full benefits of mobility. Nokia has a long and rich heritage in mobility, and with the outstanding battery life, premium design and all-day, always-on connectivity, we will create something quite compelling," said Kai Oistamo, Nokia's Executive Vice-President for devices to Telegraph.

Nokia will mostly give further details about pricing early next month at Nokia World '09 in Stuttgart. It is expected that the booklet will be expensive and will be in the range of $700 to $1000.

Agencies

Nokia likley to enter Netbook market

Nokia, the world's largest maker of cell phones, could be preparing to enter the crowded Netbook market.

According to the Economic Times, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo told reporters at a press event Wednesday in India, that "the PC and the mobile will continue to come closer and merge." He said Nokia sees a lot of opportunity in this convergence and he added that the company is "looking at the Netbook market to see what kind of opportunity is there."

It shouldn't come as a big surprise that Nokia might push further into the computing space. The company has been marketing its new smartphone, the N97, as a "mobile computer." And the company has also been selling its mobile Internet devices, or N-series Tablets.

These devices, which are geared toward early adopters and gadget lovers, typically start at around $300 to $400. They don't incorporate a traditional cell phone, but they come with a full QWERTY keypad and access to the Internet via Wi-Fi or through a Bluetooth-connected phone.

Netbooks appeal to a wider audience than mobile Internet devices, which could help Nokia diversify its business. Netbooks, which once were seen as "companion devices" for accessing cloud-based services like Gmail or social-networking sites like Facebook, are now being used as full-blown computers.

Their low cost (around $299) has driven big sales of these devices. About 16 million Netbooks were sold in North America in 2008. And because these devices often use Windows XP, a familiar operating system, most PC users already feel comfortable using them.

Nokia is likely hoping to cash in on Netbooks' popularity.

It's clear that consumers are looking to be more mobile and as carriers around the world build faster 4G wireless networks, demand for mobility will likely increase. What's more, Nokia and other handset makers will soon be facing competition from computer makers in the mobile phone market. Laptop maker Acer has already announced it is developing a smartphone. And there are reports that PC maker Dell is also working on a mobile phone.

Economic Times/Agencies

Can an iPod be a poor man's iPhone?

I try to keep a stiff upper lip about not having an iPhone. Just couldn't afford it — not with the $75 a month or so AT&T charges for service on top of the $199 upfront cost for the device.

I could, however, afford the $229 iPod Touch — and got it as a gift, as it happened. It has most of the same goodies: a Web browser, e-mail, YouTube. And it stores way more music than the iPhone. (Ha!) Plus, the other day I used it to call China.

Yup, a call around the world — on a device that doesn't have a phone. A handful of applications on Apple Inc.'s iTunes store will let you do this, as long as you're in a Wi-Fi hot spot.

My iPhone complex hasn't disappeared, but at least now I have a device that looks just like it, has no monthly service fees, and lets me make free or cheap phone calls.

The best part of these applications — which require the second-generation iPod Touch that came out last year — is that they are free to download, and calls to other people using the same app won't cost you anything.

Two of the services I've tried, Truphone and Fring, will also let you make free calls to Google Talk users and type instant messages to friends online. Both automatically queue up a list of buddies from different services you might have, including Gmail chat, AIM and MSN Messenger, once you log in.

But it's Truphone's pay feature that puts it ahead of the others. TruPhone charges you to make calls to landlines or regular cell phones, but generally at better rates than most wireless carriers. And it's upfront about what you pay.

Your balance — which you can add to with a credit card, either on the device or on your computer browser — pops up with the dial screen. Calls in the U.S. are all 5 cents per minute (2 cents if you sign up to pay a $4 monthly fee).

Rates outside the U.S. vary wildly but you can check in the application before you dial. To call cell phones in China, for instance, is only 5 cents per minute, while France is 25 cents. Antarctica? A whopping $2.25.

You can make regular calls with Fring using a Skype account, but that's another layer to deal with.

The calls on these services sound pretty good, a little tinny but clearer than my regular cell phone connection. IPod Touch users will need Apple's $29 ear buds that have a tiny microphone on the back of the volume control along the cord.

The most serious drawback is the most obvious: While the iPhone uses AT&T's wireless network to provide Internet access anywhere, on the iPod Touch you'll need to stick to Wi-Fi hot spots. For rural or suburban dwellers who don't encounter lots of free Wi-Fi zones, that may very well mean limiting yourself to your house, or other places where there's a computer with the same Internet phone call capabilities anyway.

That means these apps probably won't replace your cell phone. But they can moderate your iPhone envy.

Agencies

Are mobile phones really hot?

Christmas being just round the corner, as always mobile phones are a popular gift choice. Reevoo.com gives you the low-down on mobiles; examining what's hot, what's not, what people are actually buying and which phones are the best value for money.

What's hot? The iPhone 3G of course! But it's not highly ratedDespite being one of the most talked about phones of the year, the iPhone 3G has failed to beat its 2007 predecessor.

The original iPhone is rated 8.3/10, just pipping this year's 3G offering to the post, (the iPhone 3G scores 8.2/10). According to owners, the major issues with the 3G model are its battery life and application crashes, meaning that other phones have been able to storm ahead of the iPhone. So, what really is the hottest mobile phone this season?

Revoo recommendations: Top five Christmas mobile phones

Top five most popular in last 30 days:
1. Nokia N96
2. Samsung F480 Tocco
3. Blackberry Storm
4. Sony Ericsson C902
5. Samsung Omnia

Top five highest rated phones of 2008:
1. BlackBerry Bold 9000
2. Sony Ericsson W980i
3. Apple iPhone 3G 8/16GB
4. Samsung F480 Tocco
5. Sony Ericsson K660i

Reevoo reviewers pick the BlackBerry Bold 9000 as the best phone released in 2008.

Reviews on Reevoo for the BlackBerry Bold 9000 include:

Positive+
+ Great keyboard for e-mailing and texting. Cracking screen which is nice and bright and videos look lovely on it. The sound from the internal speaker is really good. Just a great phone overall.
+ The Bold is undoubtedly the most impressive Blackberry yet. One of its greatest advantages is that in spite of many new features, it feels very familiar. Web browsing is almost broadband speed.

Negative
– Out of the box battery life is bad but gets better with regular charges
- The hyped-up phones usually get all the attention but it's interesting to see how the most popular phones differ from the most highly rated:

The Nokia N96, whilst being the most popular phone on the market, gets marked down by reviewers for poor battery life and software problems. At around £500 for Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) customers, it's no surprise that it also gets rated below average for value for money.

However, it does impress with its design and features. One reviewer writes "great picture and video quality, very easy to find your way around, fantastic features...looks good".

So who wins the race?

When it comes to value for money, the stylish Samsung F480 Tocco is a great buy. It scores highly for design and features and gets much higher scores for battery life than the Nokia N96, both iPhones and the BlackBerry Bold 9000. It's around £150 PAYG or free on some contracts.

Here are some of the reviews from owners of the Samsung F480 Tocco:
Positive:
+ Easy to use, good haptic technology feedback from the touch screen, excellent camera, fair battery life, smart, compact, stylish.
+ It's easy to use and has a very good memory and has good features that I would have expected.

Negative
- No Wi-Fi capability.
- Should come with a ball point touch screen pen, can be hard to press the right keys sometimes.

Leading service provider completes energy audits of data centres

As part of the Green IT project, Adventity BPO India Pvt Ltd, a leading provider of fully integrated strategic KPO and BPO services to a diverse global business community has completed energy audits of all its data centers and also made changes to reduce the carbon footprint. In a interview with Manu Sharma, Associate Editor at CIOL, Rajendra Sawant, CIO of Adventity talks about switching off any servers when it is not required and also on how hard it is to get the right IT manpower in an organization.

CIOL: What are the major challenges faced by you in your organization?
Rajendra Sawant: Some of the major challenges we face in our organization include:
* Getting the right manpower
* Unrealistic expectations from IT
* To convince top level management about importance of IT

CIOL: Does your organization link IT budget with the company's performance or growth? If yes please elaborate?
RS: No, our organization does not link IT budget with the company's performance or growth

CIOL: Can you cite any specific areas where IT has come up as an accomplishment in your stint? RS: One of our major accomplishments has been that we converted most of the IT Infrastructure projects from Capex into Opex. The other include major cost reduction on almost all aspects of IT Infrastructure and also creating a Wi-Fi and Mobile savvy IT climate.

CIOL: Going forward, what are the challenges that you foresee?
RS: Going forward the challenges we forsee include:
* Retaining good talent pool
* Protect IT investments
* To delivery more for less cost

CIOL: How far have you come as regards to adopting 'Green IT technologies'?
RS: We have done an energy audit of all our data centers and made changes to reduce carbon footprint. We also switch off any servers when it is not required.

CIOL: What has been the hike in the IT budget for the new fiscal year? What has been the growth rate over last year?
RS: IT budget has increased by almost 100 percent and same has happened over last year.

CIOL: Name the top 5 items that you expect to spent on this fiscal year?
RS: * Storage solution
* Server virtualization
* MPLS
* Voice solution upgrade

CIOL: Do you feel the amount allocated for IT is sufficient if yes why? If not why not? How much should you be spending?
RS: We have sufficient allocation for IT. Currently IT being integral part of our service offerings, IT budget allocation gets priority.

CIOL: How big is the IT staff in your organization?
RS: The current strength of IT in our organization is over 150 employees.