Circuit City was founded in 1949 as the Wards Company and the company has it’s headquarter in Richmond, Virginia.

On Friday, 16th January, 2009, the company announced that they are closing all the remaining stores and sell off its merchandise. The company said that it has 34,000 employees at the time of liquidation. The company already closed 155 stores in different locations of US in November itself.

“We are extremely disappointed by this outcome,” said James Marcum, the acting CEO for Circuit City. He also stated, “We were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors and lenders to structure a going-concern transaction in the limited timeframe available, and so this is the only possible path for our company.”

Circuit City was the No. 2 Electronics retail shop after Best Buy. The company had filed for the Bankruptcy in the court of Eastern District of Virginia and on late Friday the judge has approved the same. The company has begun its sale from Saturday, 17th January and it is believed to last till the end of March, 2009. All items are categorized for the final sale.

Already the company’s website is not working and call center service has also been ceased after 18th January, 2009.

The employees of the company will receive 60 days notice of termination and those who have been laid off earlier will get salary and all benefits up to 60 days starting from 16th January, Company stated.

The Circuit City has its operations in Canada also. It has 765 retail stores and dealers outlets in Canada. The company announced that it will continue its Canadian operations as of now. Around three thousand employees are there in its Canadian stores.

The company will redeem its gift cards through out its liquidation sale, however after the stores are closed, the cards will hold no value at all.

“This is very significant. It shows you how bad things are for the retail industry,” said George Whalin, president and CEO of Retail Management Consultants.

George Whalin, the president and CEO of Retail Management consultants stated that the breakdown of the company is due to some management mistakes over the past few years along with the present recession condition.

The CEO of Growth Ventures Group, Love Goel, also agreed with what Whalin has stated. Growth Ventures Group is a private equity firm which is mainly focused on the retailers. Goel however is speculating that if Circuit City could still find a lifeline. He said that in case if Golden Gate Capital bought the company and on restructuring it and make the online only business with some stores would probably can resolve many issues at this time. Golden Gate Capital is one of the lead bidders for this merchant as reported. Circuit City was doing nice online business. Its online business was estimated to $1 Billion. Hence, Goel believes that this may be few more options left with regards to this retail Electronic giant business to sustain.

Design and Layout

Simplicity is what Samsung.in is all about; simple in design and lay out. The logo, links and pictures are displayed perfectly in a white background, which adds to easy navigation. The latest Samsung product with a link in the middle of the home page is quite impressive. Displayed in true colours and beautiful pictures, they get prominence in the home page.  Samsung.in maintains all professionalism of a technical website, with its prominent display of various links and faster navigation.  Moreover, the home page as well as the links is not crowded.

Content

Samsung.in provides all information regarding the various services and products with specific links, which makes navigation easy. The Navigation bar has links to ‘Consumer, Business, Support, Experiences, News and About Samsung. Down below there are links to various products. Just below the navigation bar, there is a search tab, which makes it easier to look out for products of one’s choice.

The Consumer Link is again subdivided into various links like Television, Mobile Phones and Cameras, and which again has been linked to specific products. For example, if one clicks the Television link, one can go to specific products like LCD TV, LED LCD Flat, Plasma TV and more. This categorization of links makes navigation smooth and easier.

The products are displayed very prominently, with beautiful pictures and all specifics. The literature is simple that makes it easier to know the products. The Business section offers more on Semiconductors, LCD Panel, Telecommunication, Set Box and more. Apart from the Download Center, the Support link opens to FAQs, Online Repair Request, Register Your Product, Service Support and Contact Us.  The website also offers the best reviews on their products, which are quite informative. The news section has been divided into Product News, Corporate News and Sponsorship News. All information regarding corporate profile, Business Areas, board of directors and careers can be seen at the About Samsung Link.

Apart from the links in the navigation bar, there are various links like scholarship programmes down below the home page.

This new phone has been built on the model that was presented at CES a year back. The new wristwatch-style phone LG-GD910 handset will be available in Europe at first.

A 1.4-inch display (touchscreen) has been placed in the center of this wristwatch-style phone and most of the interaction is done with it. It also has a keypad that can be used for calling. Some buttons have also been placed at one side of the body.

This WCDMA phone features the support for HSDPA data system, so we can expect fast downloading. A minute camera has also been featured at one corner of the screen, so video calls can also be made with it.
Bluetooth, text-to-speech functionality, a speakerphone and a nice MP3 player are some other included features. And one thing more it is also water-resistant.

No word about the release of this new phone, however, we can expect more details at CES.

Design

The home page is colourful and matches a home appliance web portal. It is really amazing to see the scrolling screen with a perfect picture of a kitchen in the background displaying the various kitchenwares. The blue background blends with the page and is perfect. The colours of the pictures also do not strain the eyes, matching the background blue.  The design and lay out is quite impressive.

Content

Only three links are there in the navigation bar that opens to the “Products”, “Corporate” and “Contact Information”. Towards the left side of the page, just below the scrolling pictures, one can have information about the company’s profile, brands, reports and review of financial statistics, sustainability and corporate governance. There is also a direct link to the products in each country. Unlike other websites, there are only a few links that makes it easy to navigate. The pages, both the main and the links, are not crowded, which makes it easier to view.

The links to the product information are informative. With large pictures, the literature that follows provides all information regarding the product. To the left of the “Product” page, there are links to specific categories of products that makes it easy to explore a particular product. The virtual tour of the products also helps in knowing the products in close quarters.  There is also a “dealer locator” Link, where one can search for the dealers in one’s own locality.

Colourful and simple, the Electrolux.com maintains all professionalism of a website; Electrolux.com is worthy the name.

Pcworld.com

Design

Pcworld.com has been designed attractively for the readers and the consumers with the help of some excellent graphic designs. The website loads very fast, as it has the best innovative designs supported by flawless navigation and simplified collaboration between the web pages. Viewers get all possible information regarding any sort of hi-tech products ranging from mobiles, televisions, desktops, laptops and gadgets with the help of useful necessary links helped by excellent web management.

The domain provides the latest news from the world of technology supported by useful reviews and tips that helps users to get most out of the website. Although it has a simple design having the logo displayed on the top left corner, each and every word is placed at its right position helping the viewers to get an easy view.

Layout

Pcworld.com incorporates unique shades of red and grey, as the website is based on a three tier layout design. The website is not at all cluttered, although it contains various links having an attractive visual appeal with a modern look. The overall layout can be termed as pretty consistent, as the menus have been placed in the correct places. Users get a refreshing look from the website, as it maximizes the focus of the viewer to the content without detracting from the original message of the website. The domain has an organised layout with the incorporation of navigation bars, quick search button, homepage menu tools, most popular search items and various linked options.

Key features

Pcworld.com is the most informative website having all the news from latest technology products, laptops, Macs, IPods, cell phones, business centre, cameras, audio and video, printers, monitors, gadgets, gaming and holiday gifts. You also get the option of downloading various software, freeware and shareware from its download centre.

Design

The designing of the website is concrete, substantial and organized which endows it a very professional and focused outlook. In spite of having so many articles, resource links, web pages and features, the site does not carry a cluttered look. At the same time, the designing of the website is done in such a manner that even the advertisers get the needed space and attention, making their investment worthwhile. Thus, this site confers a bit of everything what one wants to know and be informed about. Furthermore, the navigation in between the pages is flawless and the collaboration in between the other existing web pages is very swift and simplified.

Layout

The website phenomenally adopts a three tier layout system. The first column is meant for the latest news, features, the top rated gadgets and the favorite sites. The second column is dedicated for T3 reviews, most read sections, gadget of the week and latest reviews. The last column is meant for the hot topics, big question, the promotion links and advertisements.

Key features

To start with, this site is bustling with innumerable key features to make it one of the best surfed sites in the past years, establishing its own niche in this domain. Some of the important features are the various competitions, reviews, the news and the comprehensive search. At the same time, the audience can also download the video related to gadgets and get more comprehensive information relating to this.  Apart from it, the gadget of the week is more informative for those laymen who are searching for concrete information related to gadgets.  At the same time, the top 10s are also displayed to make the most usage of the knowledge which needs to be imparted. Thus, if there is one site where technology actually mushrooms, this site is the most wanted one.

So, for everyone who craves to search for the latest gadgets and other technological masterpieces, this site is the most craved destination.

Considering its very sleek design, which measures 82 mm x 61.6 mm x 17 mm and weighs 120 g, Motorola Hint QA30 is probably going to be appealing to all types of users. In addition to these, you also get a 2.5-inch QVGA TFT 65K widescreen display (320 x 240 pixel), which leads to clear viewing of image and video files on your phone. Battery life of QA30 is also impressive for a 940 mAh battery, from which you get almost 4.5 hours of talk time and up to 15 days of standby.

What you’re going to like about the QA30 is its instant messaging and text messaging features. The device will also allow you to store almost 300 messages. Even, its messaging experience is enhanced by the presence of a full QWERTY slider keypad.

Moreover, Hint provides you with emailing and other web applications. This is to assure that you’ll stay connected with your family, friends and rest of the social circle all the time. Apart from this, fast web connection and full HTML browser guarantees a pleasant experience of surfing on the web.

Multimedia capabilities of Motorola Hint QA30 are also worth mentioning. The music player of QA30 not only includes one touch music key, but also allows you to access songs even when slider of the device is closed. You can play a list of file formats in your device including MP3, WMA v9, MIDI, AAC, AAC+, AAC+ Enhanced for audio and WMV v9, MPEG4, H.263 for video. Again, storing your favorite music will no longer be a problem with this new model, as you have the option of extending the memory up to 8 GB. Even, transferring music into your device will be as simple as using a USB 2.0 connection. It has a 256 MB inbuilt memory and 128 MB RAM, which gives you commendable performance in the absence of extendable memory. Furthermore, the presence of 3.5 mm jack and 2.0 Megapixel Camera is sufficient for its camera considering its other configuration.

Motorola Hint QA30 has hit the US market on November 28. It has an impressive set of features that might quickly get popular amongst the younger generation, who have a liking towards listening to music and sending text messages.

Unique Selling Point

• Battery Life: 4.5 hours of talk time & 15 days of standby

• Keypad: QWERTY slider keypad

• Display: 2.5-inch QVGA TFT 65K widescreen display (320 x 240 pixel)

Multimedia capabilities: One touch music key available & listening to song possible even with the slider being closed

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