Android-powered Vertu Ti (RM-828V) leaked all over, just needs a diamond-studded price tag

Shortly after the latest rumor that Vertu's prepping its first-ever Android-based device, eagle-eyed Blog of Mobile delivered further evidence to support the claim, and it even managed to dig out what claims to be product shots of said phone. First of all, the name "Ti" and model number "RM-828V" are spotted across Bluetooth SIG, GLBenchmark and telecom regulator databases in Singapore and Macau. Having scanned through these pages we now know that the Ti will come with Android 4.0.4, an 800 x 480 display, a 1.5GHz processor, Bluetooth 4.0 and NFC. Blog of Mobile added that it's a Snapdragon MSM8260A SoC with WCDMA 850/900/1700/1900/2100 radio, accompanied by a rather lame 1,250mAh battery. Bluetooth SIG's page provided the following design description of the device:

"VERTU Ti possesses the classic Vertu design DNA and characteristics ? strong, unique & distinctive. The design and craftsmanship positions VERTU Ti alongside other iconic products in the luxury market."

If the above images are authentic then the Ti does indeed maintain the classic Vertu look. The only real changes we can see so far are the three new physical keys -- presumably "Back," "Home" and "Recent apps" for Android. If all goes well, we should see this wallet-busting gadget at MWC next month, so start saving up now.

Update: Russian retailer spblux.ru lists four variants of the Ti or, as the site calls it, the Constellation Ti: "Titanium Black PVD black leather," "Titanium Black Alligator," "Red Gold Mixed Metal" and "Titanium Black Leather." Interestingly, the red gold version has a search button instead of "Recent apps," but we guess that was an earlier design. Regardless, we got all four designs after the break for your viewing pleasure. [Thanks, Roman K.]

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/30/vertu-ti-rm-828v-leak/

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US Postal Service teeters at the edge of ruin

17 hrs.

Martha C. White , NBC News contributor

Even as the price of a first-class stamp rose a penny Sunday to 46 cents, the U.S. Postal Service is operating on borrowed time.??We are currently losing $25 million per day,? Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe warned earlier this month. The agency lost nearly $16 billion in its last fiscal year, and its line of credit with the U.S. Treasury is tapped out.

If lawmakers don?t act, it could run out of money ?between six months and a year at most,? said Richard Geddes, associate professor of policy analysis and management at Cornell University.

?There could be a period when mail is not being delivered,? said Michael Crew, director of the Center for Research in Regulated Industries, and professor of regulatory economics at Rutgers University.?

The Postal Service said keeping letters moving is its top priority, even if it means defaulting on its retirement benefit funding again. ?Although our liquidity situation remains a serious concern, the Postal Service is continuing to prioritize payments to ensure employees and suppliers are paid on time, preventing any interruption in our operations,? spokesman David Partenheimer said via email.

How did the Post Office get into these dire straits when the price of stamps keeps going up??

As it turns out, 46 cents is a really good deal. In the United Kingdom, for example, a first class stamp costs 60 pence, or roughly 94 cents. In Canada, it?s 63 cents (which is about the same in U.S. currency). Geddes said if our postal service was refashioned to be more of a delivery system for still-plentiful but lower-margin commercial mail ? ads, catalogs and the like ? Americans could pay 30 percent to 40 percent more to send that birthday card ? which would bring the price of a stamp to about 64 cents.

The Postal Service is limited in how much it can raise the price of postage, but that?s only one of the factors keeping it from financial solvency.?

?The other thing that?s hurt the postal service is it?s an industry where we have scale economies,? Crew said. The post office?s fixed costs ? keeping the lights on at its huge network of facilities, maintaining its fleet and paying its employees ? are amortized across the amount of mail it processes. ?As you increase volume, unit costs decline.??

But volume isn?t increasing; it?s plummeting. First-class mail volume ? which earns around three times the profit of bulk mail ? has dropped by about a third in a little more than a decade, Geddes said. ?That decline is just enormous in a historical context,? he said.

The decline was sparked by the rise of the Internet and exacerbated by the recent recession, when companies cut their budgets for mailings. ?About a quarter of their traffic has been lost in the period since 2007-2008,? Crew said. The agency has shed thousands of workers, but it?s losing business faster than it can save money by shrinking its work?force.

Crew also blamed ?a flawed governance structure and flawed business model? for the agency?s woes. ?Any significant changes that have to take place have to be approved by Congress. This is not a way to run a business if you?re in a fast-moving environment,? he said. The Postal Service has expensive benefit obligations for retirees, a bill the agency is currently putting off and on which it owes $11.1 billion. ?

?The main problem here is Congress had introduced too many conflicting and inconsistent demands,? said James I. Campbell, an attorney and consultant on postal policy.?

The USPS has to deliver mail six days a week to everybody in the country who has been sent mail, and it has to maintain a network of around 32,000 post offices ? a much bigger footprint than other industrialized nations have.?The post office wants to eliminate Saturday delivery, which Partenheimer said would save $2.7 billion a year. But to do this, it needs Congressional approval, which ? so far, at least ? it hasn?t received.

?Essentially, Congress has got to rethink the legislation that establishes the post office,? Campbell said.?

That is easier said than done, even with dire consequences looming. ?The information I?ve gotten is not looking good,? Geddes said. ?The reason they?ve been able to last this long is because they have gotten the low-hanging fruit ? but they?re at they?re bare bones now.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/postage-prices-rise-usps-still-teeters-edge-ruin-1C8146115

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Defending champ Azarenka into final against Li

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Sloane Stephens of the US in their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Sloane Stephens of the US in their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Sloane Stephens of the US reacts during her semifinal match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus leaves Rod Laver Arena for a medical time out during her semifinal match against Sloane Stephens of the US at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

China's Li Na celebrates after defeating Russia's Maria Sharapova in their semifinal match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Andrew Brownbill)

Russia's Maria Sharapova wipes her face with a towel during her semifinal match against China's Li Na at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Victoria Azarenka overcame a sore left ankle, some anxiety and a slew of frustrating forehand errors before fending off American teenager Sloane Stephens to reach the Australian Open final against Li Na.

For the second time in two days, 19-year-old Stephens sat patiently on a courtside chair during a medical timeout by an experienced, older player late in the second set.

On Thursday, the top-seeded Azarenka returned to finish off a 6-1, 6-4 win on her sixth match point. It had been a different outcome Wednesday, when Stephens rallied from a set and a break down to beat an injured Serena Williams in three sets.

Azarenka said in an on-court interview that she "almost did the choke of the year" when she wasted five match points on serve at 5-3 in the second, mostly with unforced errors on her forehand.

She went to the locker room for medical treatment after dropping that game, then returned to break the 29th-seeded Stephens' serve to finish off the match.

The 23-year-old Azarenka later said the treatment was for chest pain.

"I couldn't breathe. I had chest pains," she said. "It was like I was getting a heart attack."

The temperature hit 97 degrees during the second women's semifinal, slightly hotter than it had been when Li Na beat No. 2-ranked Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-2 to reach the Australian Open final for the second time in three years.

Sharapova was the heavy favorite after conceding only nine games in her first five matches, a record at the Australian Open.

But the semifinal started badly for the 25-year-old Russian, serving double-faults to lose the first two points and conceding a break in the first game.

Li was the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam final when she lost to Kim Clijsters at Melbourne Park in 2011. She had her breakthrough a few months later when she won the French Open, beating Sharapova in the semifinals along the way.

The crowd got behind Li early in the match, yelling "Come on, Li Na!" and others yelling "Jia You!" which is "Come on" in Chinese. After she broke Sharapova to take a 5-2 lead, the Chinese fans in the crowd shook Chinese flags and shouted again, "Jia You!"

"I don't know what happened (but) I always play well here, so thanks guys," said Li, who was playing her third Australian Open semifinal in four years. "I just came to the court feeling like, 'OK, just do it.'"

The heat and the speed of the court surface suited Li's game.

She broke Sharapova in the third game of the second set and served an ace to move within a point of a 4-2 lead, but lost the next three points to give her opponent a break opportunity.

Two big second serves took Sharapova by surprise, and Li fended off the challenge.

Li's coach, Carlos Rodriguez ? who worked with retired seven-time major winner Justine Henin ? pumped his fist over his heart after Li won the game.

Sharapova had control in her next service game, but Li scrambled from side to side and pushed the reigning French Open champion to go for the lines, getting a series of unforced errors and another break.

The sixth-seeded Li has been working since August with Rodriguez, and credits him with reviving her career with a renewed emphasis on condition.

"I'm happy. I know I have a tough coach, a tough physio," Li said, looking across to the stands and adding: "You don't need to push me anymore. I will push myself."

Sharapova, who lost the 2012 Australian final in straight sets to Azarenka, admitted it was hard to get into the match against Li.

"She was certainly much more aggressive than I was, dictating the play. I was always on the defense," said Sharapova, who could have gained the No. 1 ranking by reaching the Australian final. "When I had my opportunities and break points in games that went to deuce, I don't think any of them really went my way."

The composition of the women's semifinals was somewhat unexpected.

Stephens produced the upset of the tournament to advance to a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time with her 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory over 15-time major winner Serena Williams on Wednesday. Williams, who had been bidding for a third consecutive Grand Slam title, hurt her back in the second set and, after leading by a set and a break, ended a 20-match winning streak.

While there were surprises in the composition of the women's last four, the makeup of the men's semifinals was as expected.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic will continue his bid for a third consecutive Australian title when he takes on No. 4 David Ferrer on Thursday. No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 3 Andy Murray will meet Friday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-24-TEN-Australian-Open/id-ddff4173518e4cdd9b19a2fba53fdb31

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STUDY: Black Youth More Likely to Cosume Calories from Sugary ...

According to a recent study, black youth are almost twice as likely as their white peers to consume high calorie, sugary drinks like Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

In general, low income children of all races are consuming these drinks at a troubling rate.

Experts say these results highlight the racial disparities present within America?s obesity epidemic.

From Think Progress:

?Some groups may be more at risk for soda, others may be more at risk for fruit drinks, all of which ? have the same sugar base that contributes to obesity and disease,? one of the study?s co-authors, health policy researcher Lisa Powell, explained.

This particular study didn?t try to figure out why that?s the case, although Powell did suggest to Reuters that ?cultural norms? and cost could both be factors. But other studies have examined the links between race, class, and nutrition ? and research has confirmed that access to healthy food is divided along racial and socioeconomic lines. Even aside from cost barriers, lower-income Americans tend to live in neighborhoods that lack healthy, high-quality food in nearby grocery stores, and they often struggle to access the transportation they need to go grocery shopping. The fast food industry also contributes to nutrition disparities by targeting its marketing to low-income communities.

Read more at ThinkProgress.org

Thoughts on the results of this study?

What steps can we take to combat this unhealthy trend?

Sound off below!

Source: http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2013/01/study-black-youth-more-likely-to-cosume-calories-from-sugary-drinks/

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Video: Brother: White House changed Michelle ?for the better?

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