Behind Your Business

AFP - Stock markets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi plunged on Monday as a top finance official stoked fears the government is washing its hands of the Dubai World debt problem, saying it does not guarantee the firm.

Have you ever wondered why your cash flow and profits are not going up? Business Intelligence is all about knowing what's up with your company and what to do about it.

"We've seen the bottom" in U.S. consumer spending and confidence, says Diane Irvine, president and CEO of Blue Nile.Other retail executives may not share her optimism (at least not so openly) but Irvine spoke to Tech Ticker after Blue Nile notch

No one outside Apple knows what it looks like or any of its newest features. But news that a fourth-generation iPhone may already be in use fueled a buzz Monday on when the must-have device will debut.

MacRumors, a blog that follows Apple products, broke the story Monday that Pandav, an application developer, has monitored usage by an iPhone 3,1 -- a moniker unused by any previous models of the combination iPod and smartphone.

The current version of the iPhone, 3GS, which has a faster processor, was identified as iPhone 2,1 on application-usage analytics several months before its launch, according to the MacObserver.

Ready for Verizon?

Pandav spotted the new ID on iBART, a guide to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system in northern California. The first analytics sightings of the last iPhone were also in the San Francisco Bay area. Apple is based in Cupertino, a San Francisco suburb.

Judging from past experience, that could mean the new iPhone might be released in about eight months -- the period between the last field test and launch.

News of the new phone comes just weeks after another report that the next iPhone will be compatible with carriers around the world and, unlike current models, with Verizon Wireless in the United States. AppleInsider, citing a report by OTR Global, reported that the iPhone could be available in the third quarter next year and contain a hybrid chip made by Qualcomm and a 2.8-inch screen that is smaller than the current 3.5-inch display.

Verizon compatibility would be an "enormous" game-changer for the iPhone, according to Mordy Hackel, president of KJ Technology, a New York-based services provider for upscale residential clients and small to midsize businesses. "Among people that I speak to who love the iPhone, what they hate most are its problems with connectivity, and Verizon is known to...

LG Electronics is getting creative with its smartphone lineup again. The electronics maker is rolling out the LG eXpo in an exclusive partnership with AT&T.

The LG eXpo is not only the first phone in the U.S. with a one-gigahertz processor, it's also the first to come with a mobile projector add-on for business professionals who need to share data on the fly. The phone will run on AT&T's HSPA 7.2 network.

The LG Mobile Projector snaps onto the back of the device so users can share presentations, slideshows and even online videos straight from the mobile phone. The projector weighs 1.8 ounces, is small enough to fit into the palm of your hand, and can project up to eight feet.

"LG eXpo adds to our growing portfolio of smartphones that operate on the latest upgrade to our 3G network and offer customers a great choice," said Michael Woodward, an AT&T vice president. "As we move to HSPA 7.2 technology, it is crucial to provide our customers innovative and future-proof smartphones."

An Exponential Smartphone

The LG eXpo has a 3.2-inch touchscreen with 16 million colors and a full-size QWERTY keypad. LG eXpo supports an RSS viewer, podcasts and GPS. The device also includes a five-megapixel camera with a built-in auto flash and can support up to a 16GB removable microSD memory card for music and photo storage.

The LG eXpo does away with the need for pin codes and passwords with a Smart Sensor fingerprint-recognition component from AuthenTec for security. LG said the Smart Sensor also complements the touchscreen user interface by providing precise cursor control for text editing, four-way menu navigation, and AuthenTec's unique turbo-scroll feature for rapid browsing of long e-mails, contact lists, and web sites.

The LG eXpo runs on Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional to help business users stay more connected with...