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RIM Drops Playbook Tablet Price
RIM Kicks Off Employee-Only $99 BlackBerry PlayBook Fire Sale
iPhone And iPad Top Gadgets On Teens' Christmas Wish Lists
Tell Me Again How iPad Demand Is Waning
Who Really Needs a PC Anyway?
Verbatim Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Wireless Mobile Keyboard
Apple Store Fifth Most Visited Black Friday Online Retail Site
iPhone 4S Achieves The Impossible; Gets Apple Market Share Growing Again
UK iPhone Sales Triple In October
Cars.com iPhone App Wins Highest MarCom Award
Flashlight App Lights Up Black Friday With One Million In Sales For Developer i4Software
RIM Drops Playbook Tablet Price
HardMac's Lionel notes that given its Playbook tablet's limited success, RIM has decided to follow HP and offer big discounts the slow-selling slab, slashing the price to $199 for the 16 GB model, $299 for the 32 GB unit and $399 for the 64 GB top of the line. The discount ($300) is not as big as the one that HP offered earlier this year when it dropped the price of its tablet to $99, but he anticipates that it will help RIM goose sales, which in the last quarter amounted to only 200,000 units.
However, Lionel observes that RIM is getting into dangerous territory, because tablet manufacturers now have to compete with Amazon and its Kindle Fire, on which the Amazon doesn't have to make any profit since its business model is now based on the content with the ebooks, and while Apple remains the market leader, making a profit both on the tablet, and on the content.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://bit.ly/rRIUKG
RIM Kicks Off Employee-Only $99 BlackBerry PlayBook Fire Sale
The Verge's Joanna Stern notes that for some, even a slashed price of $199 may sound too steep for the BlackBerry Playbook this holiday season. Or at least RIM seems to think so, since according to "multiple sources," the 16GB Playbook is now available to RIM employees through a special corporate portal for $99, while the 32GB version is $149 and the 64GB model $199, although purchases are limited to eight units.
Did RIM just say "uncle?"
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/v1N39j
iPhone And iPad Top Gadgets On Teens' Christmas Wish Lists
Cult of Mac's Ed Sutherland reports that according to Piper Jaffray, Apple devices are now right up there with with clothes and cash as the top gifts for teens, with the iPhone on the wish list of 3.4 percent of survey subjects, while 2.5 percent of teen respondents want an iPad, and Macs were on the list of 1.1 percent of young people questioned.
Those metrics handily beat out Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console (0.3 percent), and Sony's PlayStation 3 (0.4 percent), with the only items surpassing Apple being cash (22 percent) and clothes (15 percent) among those surveyed.
Sutherland also notes that over the survey's four-year life, there's been a significant increase in demand for Apple devices, with overall demand for Apple devices (both mobile and desktop) tripling over the four years.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/sidMha
Tell Me Again How iPad Demand Is Waning
All Things Digital's John Paczkowski observes that if demand for the iPad is truly waning, as some have contended, you wouldn't know it from the Black Friday foot traffic at Apple's retail stores last weekend.
Paczkowski notes that Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster surveyed a few Apple stores on Black Friday and found iPad sales per hour were running 68 percent higher than they did a year ago, with the stores stores Munster visited averaging sales of about 14.8 iPads per hour, up from 8.8 iPads per hour last year.
For the full report visit here:
http://dthin.gs/rAuPoW
Who Really Needs a PC Anyway?
TechPinions' Ben Bajarin weighs in on a blog ZDNet's
James Kendrick posted last week http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-news/who-really-needs-a-stinking-tablet-anyway/5563?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+ZDNetBlogs+(ZDNet+All+Blogs) posing the provocative question: "Who really needs a stinking tablet anyway?"
Bajarin says Kendrick's post is well articulated, but thinks it misses the bigger picture of what tablets are and more importantly what they represent, and that rather than look at the world today where tablets are in their early maturity stage, he would rather look to the future, at which point his title, "Who Needs a PC Anyway?" will be a valid question.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://techpinions.com/who-really-needs-a-pc/4202
Charles W. Moore has also written a commentary on that topic, which you can find here:
http://bit.ly/t4tin3
Verbatim Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Wireless Mobile Keyboard
For tablet users on the go, Verbatim's new Ultra-Slim Bluetooth Keyboard offers a stylish, thin design for handy mobility.
Designed to work with the iPad, iPad 2, and iPhone, along with other Bluetooth-enabled Tablets (with HID keyboard support), this keyboard features an ultra-compact design that readily fits in its included carrying case for exceptional portability and easy storage.
The keyboard features enhanced, easy-to-use "smart keys" for cut, copy, paste and undo, with added controls for music, power off and device locking. The Ultra-Slim keyboard also eliminates the need for constant battery changing with its built-in rechargeable power source that is easily replenished via a USB-to-computer or wall-charger connection.
Features:
• Ultra-Compact Design
- Stylish, thin design readily stores in carrying case for maximum portability and mobility
• Bluetooth Wireless
- Designed to work with Bluetooth-enabled iPad, iPad2, iPhone & Tablet devices with HID keyboard support
• Rechargeable Built-In Battery
- No need for replacing batteries, the keyboard features a built-in rechargeable power supply
• Enhanced Smart Keys
- Easy-to-use smart function keys for cut, copy, paste, and undo. Added controls for music control, power off and device locking
• Low Profile Keys
- Quiet, soft-touch keys provide crisp, responsive feel when typing
• Extras
- A carrying case for the keyboard and charging USB cable are also included, providing even greater freedom and mobility.
System requirements:
• Bluetooth Wireless
• HID Keyboard Support (iOS, Android, Blackberry/QNX, HP/WebOS or otherwise)
• iOS4 or Higher (iPhone, iPad, iPad2)
• Android 3.0 or higher (Android Tablets)
Compatibility List:
• iPhone, iPad, iPad2
• Samsung Galaxy Tab
• Motorola Xoom
• Blackberry Playbook
• Any Tablet with HID Keyboard support & Bluetooth connectivity (some restrictions may apply).
Available in black or white, the keyboard is designed to work with the iPad, iPhone, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Motorola Xoom and other tablet devices.
The Ultra-Slim keyboard sells for $49.99
For more information, visit:
http://bit.ly/tSt5NA
Apple Store Fifth Most Visited Black Friday Online Retail Site
comScore reports that U.S. retail e-commerce spending for the first 25 days of the November - December 2011 holiday season has been $12.7 billion spent online, marking a 15-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. Black Friday (November 25) saw $816 million in online sales, making it the heaviest online spending day to date in 2011 and representing a 26-percent increase versus Black Friday 2010. Thanksgiving Day (November 24), while traditionally a lighter day for online holiday spending, achieved a strong 18-percent increase to $479 million.
"Despite some analysts' predictions that the flurry of brick-and-mortar retailers opening their doors early for Black Friday would pull dollars from online retail, we still saw a banner day for e-commerce with more than $800 million in spending," says comScore chairman, Gian Fulgoni. "With brick-and-mortar retail also reporting strong gains on Black Friday, its clear that the heavy promotional activity had a positive impact on both channels. We now turn our attention to Cyber Monday, a day that Shop.org says will see eight-in-ten retailers running special online promotions. Last year, Cyber Monday was the heaviest day of online spending ever, with sales exceeding $1 Billion, and we fully expect to see another record set this year."
Black Friday Bargains Boost Web Browsing Behavior
As the online channel increasingly influences offline shopping behavior, consumers turned to Black Friday sites on the web to conduct research in advance of the days events. comScore analyzed several Black Friday deal sites for the five days ending Black Friday (Nov. 21-25, 2011) compared to the corresponding days last year, finding that bfads.net led the pack with 3.9 million unique visitors, up 51 percent versus last year. TheBlackFriday.com followed with 3.2 million visitors while also posting the strongest year-over-year growth at 137 percent.
Amazon Ranks #1 Among Online Retailers on Black Friday; Apple #5
Fifty million Americans visited online retail sites on Black Friday, representing an increase of 35 percent versus year ago. Each of the top five retail sites achieved double-digit gains in visitors vs. last year, led by Amazon. Walmart ranked second, followed by Best Buy, Target and Apple.
"Each of the top online retailers generated significantly greater Black Friday activity compared to last year," adds Mr. Fulgoni. "Amazon.com once again led the pack, with 50 percent more visitors than any other retailer, while also showing the highest growth rate versus last year. However, it is telling that the top multi-channel retailers also showed strong growth in visitors, demonstrating the importance of the online channel to the retail industry as a whole."
comScore, Inc. measures the digital world and supplies digital business analytics. For more information, visit:
http://www.comscore.com/
iPhone 4S Achieves The Impossible; Gets Apple Market Share Growing Again
The Telegraph's Consumer Technology Editor Matt Warman reports that Apple's iPhone 4S accounted for 42.8 per cent of all mobile phone sales in October and helped the iPad-maker to further increase its market share, according to latest smartphone data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. However, Warman notes that three quarters of the sales were from existing Apple users upgrading their handsets, and just 14 percent were upgrading from the iPhone 4 to the newer 4S.
Warman cites analyst Dominic Sunnebo observing that overtaking Android, even for just a month, is a feat many thought impossible, with Apple sales having ranged from 20.8 percent to 18.5 percent, and more recently up to 27.8 percent after the iPhone 4S release, and noting that most of Apple's rise has been Android's expense of Android.
For the full report visit here:
http://tgr.ph/tiiFjb
UK iPhone Sales Triple In October
The Guardian's Charles Arthur reports that pent-up UK demand for the new iPhone 4S has resulted in Apple selling more than three times as many phones in October as in any of the three previous months,, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.
Arthur says Data released by the research company shows the iPhone nabbing 42.8% of UK smartphone sales in October alone, comfortably ahead of all Android phones combined, which took 35%.
For the full report visit here:
http://bit.ly/uVr9tv
Cars.com iPhone App Wins Highest MarCom Award
Cars.com, an online resource for buying and selling new and used cars, announced today it has been awarded a MarCom Platinum Award for the site's popular app for iPhone. MarCom is an award administered annually by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals which was founded as a means to honor outstanding achievement in the communications industry. The Platinum Award is MarCom's highest honor and is received by companies and products judged to be of the utmost quality, creativity and resourcefulness.
"Winning a Platinum Award for our app for iPhone is a great achievement for Cars.com and is a testament to our work to bring consumers the tools they need to shop confidently when they need them," says Sharon Knitter, Senior Director of Mobile at Cars.com. "This award recognizes our increased prominence in the mobile space and our dedication to car shoppersconstantly seeking new and innovative ways to make their experience even better."
The Cars.com iPhone app helps car shoppers:
• Search millions of new, used and certified vehicles on make and model with the ability to set price limits
• View photos and videos of vehicles
• Locate nearby dealerships, view inventories and receive directions
• Make a "favorites" list of dealerships and vehicles with the ability to add photos and notes
• Calculate monthly payments with a finance tool
"With over 1 million downloads since its release in February 2010, car shoppers have made it clear that they value having a way to access the great features of our site not only from their home but on their mobile device too," says Knitter. "Our ultimate goal is to give car shoppers the tools necessary to be confident in their purchase decision, knowing what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay."
Cars.com is among several other winners of the Platinum Award, and one of a select few for their mobile app whose work has been recognized by judges and industry professionals who have determined they exceed a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry. Out of more than 6,000 entries, Cars.com joins an elite group of the MarCom Platinum Award winners.
Cars.com was recently named the "Best Overall Customer Experience" by Keynote Systems, the leader in Internet and mobile cloud marketing. Cars.com is an online destination for car shoppers that offers information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. Cars.com offers thousands of new and used vehicle listings, consumer reviews, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and many other tools. Cars.com put millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they needs to make confident buying decisions.
For more information, visit:
http://Cars.com
Flashlight App Lights Up Black Friday With One Million In Sales For Developer i4Software
i4software ( http://www.i4software.com ) has announced it has sold one million copies of its Flashlight app for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S users. The milestone came for Flashlight ironically on Black Friday.
The app, selling for 99 cents, was first released in July of 2010 and since has become the number one selling iOS utility, ranking as the overall top-paid app in the Utilities Category of the App Store.
The Flashlight app rivals many of the most popular games downloaded from the Apple iTunes Store and shines among users with its 10,000+ 5-star ratings.
Achieving 1 million in sales on a single app is significant for i4Software and gives us a great foundation for further growth, specifically for our new entertainment-related product coming in January at i4movies.com. Flashlight has provided a great opportunity for a million users to discover the importance of having the Flashlight app on their iPhone for critical and day-to-day situations, says Michael Zaletel, CEO of i4Software.
Praises for the app have come from police officers, firefighters, pilots, EMTs, nurses, military personnel and other users who recount how instantly turning the iPhone into a flashlight prevented injuries and saved lives.
The reason for the overwhelming popularity of Flashlight is that it opens faster than any other app, illuminating instantly when the app is launched. Utilizing the LED camera flash, instead of just using the iPhones LCD screen, Flashlight is able to provide a constant light source that is brighter than most common D battery flashlights.
"People appreciate the fact that it's ad-free and has multiple uses as many of our customer reviews have indicated," the company notes. "This has built user confidence in our other products and has helped i4Software to attract new customers to our brand. According to Zaletel, it has increased the company's market share with millennial buyers; thanks to the recent launch of the iPhone 4S. Next, we're anticipating another million-seller with our new personal entertainment app thats premiering soon on i4movies.com."
Flashlight App Store Download Link:
http://bit.ly/b4wfT6
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