China may be the 'world's factory,' but Indian companies, led by software giants TCS and Infosys, continue to outshine and dominate the annual ranking of big-cap, profitable companies in Asia.

A total of 12 Indian companies made it to the third annual ‘Forbes Asia Fabulous 50 List’, followed by Taiwan with 10 and China with seven, Forbes Asia said in a press release.

Four of India's IT outsourcing companies made the cut including the biggest, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) that writes software for leading American firms.

Its revenues leapt 45 per cent in the last year and its market capitalisation has doubled since listing three years ago to cross the USD27 billion mark, the release said.

Tata earns nearly all of its revenues overseas but will move some of its work back to India, it said.

The 12 Indian companies on the Forbes Asia 'Fabulous 50' list are: Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bharti Airtel, Grasim Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys Technologies, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Satyam Computer Services, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Steel and Wipro.

Most of the Indian firms on the list, however, did not have to leave home to find success, the release noted.

With a relatively young population of 1.1 billion, India has its own huge market.

Companies such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel are growing fast by reaching out to the country's rural customers, not to Western markets. Others, such as Grasim, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance, are shoring up the country's infrastructure at a furious pace.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com

Apple cut the price of its hot-selling iPhones and unveiled a slick touch-screen iPod as part of a bold product line overhaul aimed at boosting year-end holiday season sales.

"I think it is a deep and complete line-up," said Jupiter Research analyst Michael Gartenberg after watching Apple chief executive Steve Jobs introduce revamped iPod models and the new iPod Touch.

"A lot of consumers said they don't want a new mobile phone but they want all the other stuff the iPhone has."

Apple's tinkering with its money-making iPod line was done shrewdly, with the company adding video, memory or other coveted features while not pushing up prices, according to analysts.

"Apple has models with a range of appeal -- fashion, function, price," Gartenberg said. "Apple has set the bar high for competitors."

IPod Touch models feature Apple's Safari web browser and a built-in wireless antenna, meaning users can connect directly to the Internet at Wi-Fi "hot spots" the same way they might with a laptop computer.

Apple built custom Google and Yahoo search functions into iPod Touch models, along with YouTube video viewing and an iTune Wi-Fi Music Store that permits shopping at the online store without going through a computer.

Eight gigabyte iPod Touch models are priced at USD 299 and 16 gigabyte models at USD 399.

The iPod Touch models have been localised to an array of languages and will be the first part of the new product line to ship worldwide, according to Jobs.

Courtesy : Expressindia.com