Friday, June 29, 2012
Apple rumored to release upgraded iPad in summer, says paper
Apple rumored to release upgraded iPad in summer, says paper: Apple is reportedly set to launch an upgraded 9.7-inch iPad in the summer of this year with the device shipment volumes expected to increase starting September, according to a Chinese-language Apple Daily report citing sources from market watchers.
Apple switching from Samsung to Sharp display panels for the new iPad in the summer, might thin the tablet
Apple switching from Samsung to Sharp display panels for the new iPad in the summer, might thin the tablet: 
Supply chain sources are saying that Apple will switch over the summer to 50% Sharp IGZO screens, from 60-70% Samsung-made Resolutionary panels now in the new iPad, with the bulk of the rest going to LG. The sources also indicate that the new iPad with Sharp-made display will be thinner and with better battery life, all valid upgrades considering the screen specs that the IGZO technology makes possible...
Supply chain sources are saying that Apple will switch over the summer to 50% Sharp IGZO screens, from 60-70% Samsung-made Resolutionary panels now in the new iPad, with the bulk of the rest going to LG. The sources also indicate that the new iPad with Sharp-made display will be thinner and with better battery life, all valid upgrades considering the screen specs that the IGZO technology makes possible...
Make the Most of Your Sales Call
Make the Most of Your Sales Call:
Over the last decade, the world of business-to-business selling has changed beyond recognition. Face-to-face, transactional selling is dead; where customers want to do transactional business, it is far more effective for both buyer and seller to use the Internet or telephone. Increasingly, customers resent having to spend time in sales calls purely to make standard transactions, and some customers are even beginning to measure the cost of spending their time in this way. From the supplier side, sending a sales person or a team of people is simply too expensive unless they can add real value.
So, when clients and salespeople are going to invest time in a face-to-face sales call, what techniques can sales people use to ensure that they do add value? Research based on observation of what makes sales people successful reveals that there are four techniques that drive effectiveness:
1. Sell value, not products. Successful sales people focus on the value that their products and services add to the customer, not on product or service features. Of course they have a thorough knowledge of their company and its offerings, but they apply that knowledge to the customer's specific issues and problems. Weaker sales people tend to do more 'product push'; better sales people focus on value. Weaker sales people rely heavily on brochures and marketing materials that the customer could just as easily (and more quickly) have read online; stronger sales people use their knowledge of the customer to frame value propositions. Selling value is easier to say than to do. It is a method that can be taught through techniques such as role play, but it also requires intensive training to 'unlearn' bad habits and is therefore unsuitable for on-the-job coaching.
2. Only use relevant anecdotes and examples. Our observation of highly successful sales people is that they make moderate use of relevant examples drawn from other customers. In fact, there is an inverted 'U' shape to success. Moderate use of examples is interesting and engaging for customers, and is linked to sales success. Low use is linked to poorer sales meeting outcomes, presumably because customers like to hear some real-world applications of the product or service they are thinking of buying. But at the other extreme, very high usage of stories and examples is also linked to weaker sales performance, perhaps because the sales person 'talks through the sale' or — the ultimate sales sin — bores the customer. Unlearning this behavior will require either some training for the sales person in alternative techniques and/ or intensive coaching from the sales manager.
3. Plan the sales call. Too many sales people are happy to go into a sales meeting and just 'wing it', or think that the proper preparation for a sales meeting consists of a 20-minute team briefing in the customer's car park before the meeting. In fact, research clearly shows that more successful sales people plan ahead, develop a clear meeting agenda, and have defined objectives and strategies for the meeting — especially for any negotiation that may take place. Top sales teams rehearse their sales meetings and role-play various scenarios. One sign of poor preparation is that the sales person's track record may be erratic. Sometimes they will pull off a terrific sale; other times, they will miss a sure-fire certainty. Where sales managers see these symptoms, they should ask to see the meeting agenda well beforehand and insist that important sales meetings are rehearsed repeatedly.
4. Respond flexibly and manage objections. Talented sales people are good at overcoming customer objectives and indeed are trained to do so. But sometimes the objections are of their own making — perhaps because a little too much of the 'hard sell' creeps into their sales meetings. The really great sales people in fact don't generate quite so many objections, perhaps because of greater tact and flexibility in dealing with customers. The message is that sales people always need to reflect on their practice in meetings, to make sure that they are dealing effectively with their customers. Sales managers need to check up on their good sales people from time to time, observing them in the sales meeting and, if necessary, coaching them afterwards.
These four techniques are for the sales people who are already at least moderately successful in a relational sales world, and are aimed at helping them improve their sales practice. Sales people who are much less comfortable in this new world need more extensive training. For sales managers, the important thing is to recognize that sometimes training is required, whereas sometimes coaching can be more effective. Depending on what the issue is, the coaching might be required before the meeting (if the desired change is to improve sales meeting planning) or after the meeting (if the desired aim is to improve flexibility and objection handling). So the timing of coaching, as well as its content, needs to be taken into consideration.
The good news is that all four techniques can be learned, through the right kind of sales training and coaching.
Over the last decade, the world of business-to-business selling has changed beyond recognition. Face-to-face, transactional selling is dead; where customers want to do transactional business, it is far more effective for both buyer and seller to use the Internet or telephone. Increasingly, customers resent having to spend time in sales calls purely to make standard transactions, and some customers are even beginning to measure the cost of spending their time in this way. From the supplier side, sending a sales person or a team of people is simply too expensive unless they can add real value.
So, when clients and salespeople are going to invest time in a face-to-face sales call, what techniques can sales people use to ensure that they do add value? Research based on observation of what makes sales people successful reveals that there are four techniques that drive effectiveness:
1. Sell value, not products. Successful sales people focus on the value that their products and services add to the customer, not on product or service features. Of course they have a thorough knowledge of their company and its offerings, but they apply that knowledge to the customer's specific issues and problems. Weaker sales people tend to do more 'product push'; better sales people focus on value. Weaker sales people rely heavily on brochures and marketing materials that the customer could just as easily (and more quickly) have read online; stronger sales people use their knowledge of the customer to frame value propositions. Selling value is easier to say than to do. It is a method that can be taught through techniques such as role play, but it also requires intensive training to 'unlearn' bad habits and is therefore unsuitable for on-the-job coaching.
2. Only use relevant anecdotes and examples. Our observation of highly successful sales people is that they make moderate use of relevant examples drawn from other customers. In fact, there is an inverted 'U' shape to success. Moderate use of examples is interesting and engaging for customers, and is linked to sales success. Low use is linked to poorer sales meeting outcomes, presumably because customers like to hear some real-world applications of the product or service they are thinking of buying. But at the other extreme, very high usage of stories and examples is also linked to weaker sales performance, perhaps because the sales person 'talks through the sale' or — the ultimate sales sin — bores the customer. Unlearning this behavior will require either some training for the sales person in alternative techniques and/ or intensive coaching from the sales manager.
3. Plan the sales call. Too many sales people are happy to go into a sales meeting and just 'wing it', or think that the proper preparation for a sales meeting consists of a 20-minute team briefing in the customer's car park before the meeting. In fact, research clearly shows that more successful sales people plan ahead, develop a clear meeting agenda, and have defined objectives and strategies for the meeting — especially for any negotiation that may take place. Top sales teams rehearse their sales meetings and role-play various scenarios. One sign of poor preparation is that the sales person's track record may be erratic. Sometimes they will pull off a terrific sale; other times, they will miss a sure-fire certainty. Where sales managers see these symptoms, they should ask to see the meeting agenda well beforehand and insist that important sales meetings are rehearsed repeatedly.
4. Respond flexibly and manage objections. Talented sales people are good at overcoming customer objectives and indeed are trained to do so. But sometimes the objections are of their own making — perhaps because a little too much of the 'hard sell' creeps into their sales meetings. The really great sales people in fact don't generate quite so many objections, perhaps because of greater tact and flexibility in dealing with customers. The message is that sales people always need to reflect on their practice in meetings, to make sure that they are dealing effectively with their customers. Sales managers need to check up on their good sales people from time to time, observing them in the sales meeting and, if necessary, coaching them afterwards.
These four techniques are for the sales people who are already at least moderately successful in a relational sales world, and are aimed at helping them improve their sales practice. Sales people who are much less comfortable in this new world need more extensive training. For sales managers, the important thing is to recognize that sometimes training is required, whereas sometimes coaching can be more effective. Depending on what the issue is, the coaching might be required before the meeting (if the desired change is to improve sales meeting planning) or after the meeting (if the desired aim is to improve flexibility and objection handling). So the timing of coaching, as well as its content, needs to be taken into consideration.
The good news is that all four techniques can be learned, through the right kind of sales training and coaching.
Google prepping Nexus 10 tablet, report claims
Google prepping Nexus 10 tablet, report claims:
Google is reportedly planning a 10-inch version of its Nexus 7 tablet, according to a report from Digitimes. The tablet’s display panels will be supplied by Wintek and AU Optronics; Google previously ordered 500,000 touch panels from Wintek for its Nexus 7 tablet in June, the report claims. Google’s Andy Rubin revealed earlier this year that the Mountain View-based company was doubling down on the tablet market in 2012. Google is betting big on its 7-inch slate and based on its performance, could quite possibly release a larger model to compete with Apple’s iPad. The Nexus 7 will be available in mid-July for $199.
Read
Google is reportedly planning a 10-inch version of its Nexus 7 tablet, according to a report from Digitimes. The tablet’s display panels will be supplied by Wintek and AU Optronics; Google previously ordered 500,000 touch panels from Wintek for its Nexus 7 tablet in June, the report claims. Google’s Andy Rubin revealed earlier this year that the Mountain View-based company was doubling down on the tablet market in 2012. Google is betting big on its 7-inch slate and based on its performance, could quite possibly release a larger model to compete with Apple’s iPad. The Nexus 7 will be available in mid-July for $199.
Read
Game Stop taking pre-orders for Google Nexus 7
Game Stop taking pre-orders for Google Nexus 7: 
Game Stop, known more as the place to trade in your old and unused video games, has been making a strong push in the business of selling mobile devices; trying to start an Android tablet business, Game Stop is taking pre-orders for the Google Nexus 7...
Game Stop, known more as the place to trade in your old and unused video games, has been making a strong push in the business of selling mobile devices; trying to start an Android tablet business, Game Stop is taking pre-orders for the Google Nexus 7...
Report: RIM May Abandon BB10, Adopt Windows Phone to Survive
Report: RIM May Abandon BB10, Adopt Windows Phone to Survive: Alternatively RIM may scrap handset business, turn to licensing services
Samsung Galaxy Note II to feature a 5.5-inch display, narrower body
Samsung Galaxy Note II to feature a 5.5-inch display, narrower body:
Previous reports suggested that Samsung was working on a sequel for its wildly successful Galaxy Note smartphone. The follow-up “phablet” was said to feature a larger unbreakable plane display and a quad-core processor. According to an anonymous source speaking with GSM Arena, the Note II will be equipped with a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display and a design inspired by Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone. Despite the larger screen, the width of the device has reportedly been reduced. It was originally said that the handset would launch in October to compete directly against Apple’s upcoming iPhone, but Samsung has seemingly moved the release date up to September to beat Apple to the punch. The website’s source was unable to confirm the Note II’s processor, RAM or camera.
Read
Previous reports suggested that Samsung was working on a sequel for its wildly successful Galaxy Note smartphone. The follow-up “phablet” was said to feature a larger unbreakable plane display and a quad-core processor. According to an anonymous source speaking with GSM Arena, the Note II will be equipped with a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display and a design inspired by Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone. Despite the larger screen, the width of the device has reportedly been reduced. It was originally said that the handset would launch in October to compete directly against Apple’s upcoming iPhone, but Samsung has seemingly moved the release date up to September to beat Apple to the punch. The website’s source was unable to confirm the Note II’s processor, RAM or camera.
Read
How to prepare your mind — and your team — for split-testing
How to prepare your mind — and your team — for split-testing:
Split-testing — when you create variations of your website and test which ones perform the best — is quickly becoming the rage among marketers and entrepreneurs.
Sometimes called A/B testing, split-testing is the tool of choice by most “growth hackers,” marketing people focused on attracting more users, conversions and the like. Many potential investors and angels will be impressed when they hear that you’re running split tests, and you sound 100 times smarter at a networking event when you mention that you’re testing your ideas.
But ego-stroking aside, split-testing can be an incredibly valuable tool for increasing conversion rates and hitting your goals. You can use it to validate a lot of the assumptions and ideas you have as a team, and get real data on what works for your business.
I’m not going to tell you how to split-test your website. Instead, I’m going to tell you how to prepare for it, psychologically. Although split-testing is not difficult, you do have to hop into it with the right frame of mind to get results. Here are five things to consider when getting started on split-testing your website:
For example, say you have an e-commerce website and you notice most visitors go directly to your “About” page before completing the signup process. You instantly assume that displaying more information on the homepage will make people sign up faster. But before you hire a designer, you should first brainstorm 10 to 15 ways you can improve the copy on your current homepage to achieve the results you want. Next, run 10 to 15 different experiments testing those ideas using programs like Optimizely, Visual Website Optimizer or Google Website Optimizer. Soon, you’ll have real data to give to your designer, who can then help make intelligent decisions on how to improve your site.
Congratulations! You’ve just saved hundreds of dollars and hours of your time by running a few simple split tests.
Before you get started, you have to prepare your team’s mind for testing. Make sure your entire team is on board, and that they understand every decision is an assumption to be validated. Your entire team must be ready for the results of a test, no matter how surprising they may be.
It’s okay if you bump your head or you have to run a few failed experiments to get it right. Split-testing is not only a way to discover new insights, but it’s also a tool that you can use to validate all of the assumptions you have about your product, about your visitors and about your business. The beauty of it is that you can only get better by testing.
Arielle Patrice Scott is the Marketing Director of Storenvy. Storenvy is a fast growing online store builder and marketplace for independent stores online. Arielle blogs about marketing, startup culture and e-commerce on her blog, TheArielle.com. Prior to Storenvy, Arielle was the founder of GenJuice, a content recommendation service.
The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only nonprofit organization composed of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC recently published #FixYoungAmerica: How to Rebuild Our Economy and Put Young Americans Back to Work (for Good), a book of 30+ proven solutions to help end youth unemployment.
Image via andrew.zerick/Flickr
Filed under: Entrepreneur
Split-testing — when you create variations of your website and test which ones perform the best — is quickly becoming the rage among marketers and entrepreneurs.
Sometimes called A/B testing, split-testing is the tool of choice by most “growth hackers,” marketing people focused on attracting more users, conversions and the like. Many potential investors and angels will be impressed when they hear that you’re running split tests, and you sound 100 times smarter at a networking event when you mention that you’re testing your ideas.
But ego-stroking aside, split-testing can be an incredibly valuable tool for increasing conversion rates and hitting your goals. You can use it to validate a lot of the assumptions and ideas you have as a team, and get real data on what works for your business.
I’m not going to tell you how to split-test your website. Instead, I’m going to tell you how to prepare for it, psychologically. Although split-testing is not difficult, you do have to hop into it with the right frame of mind to get results. Here are five things to consider when getting started on split-testing your website:
Nothing is true unless it’s tested.
If you’re human, you likely have an opinion on design and copy. Everyone does. When it comes to running tests the key is to assume nothing and test everything. Any big idea that your team proposes is an assumption that should be tested.For example, say you have an e-commerce website and you notice most visitors go directly to your “About” page before completing the signup process. You instantly assume that displaying more information on the homepage will make people sign up faster. But before you hire a designer, you should first brainstorm 10 to 15 ways you can improve the copy on your current homepage to achieve the results you want. Next, run 10 to 15 different experiments testing those ideas using programs like Optimizely, Visual Website Optimizer or Google Website Optimizer. Soon, you’ll have real data to give to your designer, who can then help make intelligent decisions on how to improve your site.
Congratulations! You’ve just saved hundreds of dollars and hours of your time by running a few simple split tests.
Variables must be tested independently.
Split-testing is also known as A/B testing for a reason. Make sure you’re testing your assumptions in a mathematically valid way. Let’s say your co-worker believes a different headline and lighter background will lead to more conversions. To test out this theory, run your tests one at a time against the original design: one test for the background color and one test for the headline. It will be difficult to make independent decisions if you have too many variables in your experiments.Changes won’t stick if the team doesn’t agree.
Okay, you’ve run some tests and collected great data on why your team should make some specific changes. However, your team of designers does not believe you’ve run your tests correctly, or perhaps they trust their own intuition as designers more than your data. In short, you have wasted weeks of split-testing because your team was not ready for your insights.Before you get started, you have to prepare your team’s mind for testing. Make sure your entire team is on board, and that they understand every decision is an assumption to be validated. Your entire team must be ready for the results of a test, no matter how surprising they may be.
Tests need traffic to be accurate.
This is very important. When you begin split-testing and you start to see results, it can be super exciting. If you see that your proposed orange button is beating the other variations, you immediately want to call your co-workers and scream, “I told you so!” However, my advice is to put the phone down and back away slowly from the screen. Try not to watch your results in real-time. You need to reach statistical significance — the point where enough people have participated in your split tests – before you make any decisions. Optimizely gives you an alert once you’ve collected enough data to choose an accurate winner. If you need to drive more traffic to run your tests quicker, consider using Google Adwords or Facebook Ads to generate more clicks.Split-testing has to start somewhere.
The hardest part about split-testing is knowing where to start. In fact, that decision alone can be so overwhelming that most choose not to start at all. Don’t let that happen. I’d suggest spending an hour looking through Google Analytics (or whatever traffic-measurement tool you use) to discover trends and generate intelligent hypotheses on why you’re making the sales that you are. Perhaps many people who end up purchasing your products are coming from a certain blog, or maybe the majority of your first-time visitors come through a particular landing page. Look for some of those trends and make a list of assumptions. Then, simply build experiments around that list.It’s okay if you bump your head or you have to run a few failed experiments to get it right. Split-testing is not only a way to discover new insights, but it’s also a tool that you can use to validate all of the assumptions you have about your product, about your visitors and about your business. The beauty of it is that you can only get better by testing.
Arielle Patrice Scott is the Marketing Director of Storenvy. Storenvy is a fast growing online store builder and marketplace for independent stores online. Arielle blogs about marketing, startup culture and e-commerce on her blog, TheArielle.com. Prior to Storenvy, Arielle was the founder of GenJuice, a content recommendation service.
The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only nonprofit organization composed of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. The YEC recently published #FixYoungAmerica: How to Rebuild Our Economy and Put Young Americans Back to Work (for Good), a book of 30+ proven solutions to help end youth unemployment.
Image via andrew.zerick/Flickr
Filed under: Entrepreneur
An Apple-lover’s take on the Nexus 7
An Apple-lover’s take on the Nexus 7:
All tablets are not created equal. A fact not lost on this reporter, who, at the age of three, learned to love Apple by using the very first Macintosh. Reared on the Apple doctrine, I now demand excellence in hardware, sleekness in design, and that indescribable feeling of pure joy when touching a device.
For the first time in my life, a company other than Apple has given me all that and more.
Unveiled Wednesday during the keynote address at Google’s I/O developer conference, the $199/$249 Nexus 7 outshines the existing class of Android-powered tablets, the Kindle Fire included, for one simple reason: this is the only non-Apple device that I would ever buy.
An iPad-owner and lover since day one, I’ve come to view my tablet, which mind you I never actually refer to as tablet because I’ve always believed the iPad to be superior to any other, as my most pleasurable device. My iPhone and my MacBook Air are utilitarian. I love them dearly, but I think of those devices as necessities, and I primarily associate them with work. The iPad, however, is my play device. It’s my feel-good, sit-back-and-relax toy.
The Nexus 7, which falls into the same category of device for me, has in less than 48 hours eked out a special place in my heart. I find myself reaching for the 7, as I lovingly call it, over the iPad because, well, it’s just so darn cute. I love the size, the feel of the 7 in my hands, the leather-like quality of the back panel, and the overall style of the device.
Holding the Nexus 7 feels right, browsing is fantastic (thank you Chrome tab sync) and fun, and because its running the new Jelly Bean software, the Nexus feels smart, intuitive, capable, and pretty darn slick. Thanks to Project Butter, the 7 feels nearly as smooth the iPad. No major kinks, blips, or bumps to speak of — at least so far.
I also quite like the arrangement of media on the device. As an iOS user, I was a little disoriented at first, but I quickly became acclimated to the idea of apps on one page, books and magazines on another, movies in their own place, and music on its own screen. This configuration makes it all the more easier to appreciate the content and media recommendations served up by Google in each category, which really do seem to get better with time.
But beyond pleasure, there’s something truly remarkable in just how practical the 7 is. Here’s why: when it comes to my web activities, I’ve gone Google. I’m yoked to Gmail, dependent on Google Calendar, tied to Google Docs (and now Drive), leashed to Chrome, and the list goes in. I can’t tell you how convenient it is to have Google as a seamless, interconnected part of the experience. Sure, this isn’t something that’s unique to the Nexus 7, but it’s lovely nonetheless.
Don’t just take it from me though. I talked to plenty of folks at the conference who were impressed by this little sucker.
“I really like it. I used the hotel Wi-Fi and started watching Transformers. It looked really good,” developer and This Week in Google host Gina Trapani told me yesterday. “It’s small and light. It’s definitely a better Kindle Fire.”
Trapani, much more of a-know-it-all than me when it comes to the Android software side of things, was also impressed with the subtleties that Project Butter and Jelly Bean have brought to the Nexus 7 experience. “My main compliant with the Android experience is that it’s slow and choppy, and not responsive,” she said.
But the Nexus 7, running Jelly Bean, provided a much better experience for Trapani. “It’s very smooth, and very fast,” she said. “I can see giving this to my sister-in-law. She’s in the market for a tablet … I’m going to tell her to get this.”
VentureBeat’s gadget guru Devindra Hardawar is also pretty impressed by the Nexus 7, as are gadget bloggers the web round, some of whom went deep into review mode.
Yes, it’s disheartening and a bit defeating that some of my favorite applications aren’t available for the Nexus 7. HBO Go, where are you? I do have a strong feeling, however, that by releasing a stellar device, Google has just given top iOS developers the nudge they’ve needed to build for Android too.
Let’s get to the meat of the matter. Should you buy the Nexus 7? If you’re in the market for an extremely portable tablet and don’t mind the smaller screen size, than absolutely. This isn’t some second-rate device that you should feel ashamed about toting around. No, hold your head high.
Bonus: what you save in price, you can spend on shoes. Okay, that’s just me. But seriously, I’d purchase the Nexus 7 as my primary tablet in a heartbeat. I’d also recommend it to my friends and family members. In fact, this is the very first non-Apple device that I’ve ever said that about — and that’s saying something.
Photo credits: Jennifer Van Grove and Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat
Filed under: mobile
All tablets are not created equal. A fact not lost on this reporter, who, at the age of three, learned to love Apple by using the very first Macintosh. Reared on the Apple doctrine, I now demand excellence in hardware, sleekness in design, and that indescribable feeling of pure joy when touching a device.
For the first time in my life, a company other than Apple has given me all that and more.
Unveiled Wednesday during the keynote address at Google’s I/O developer conference, the $199/$249 Nexus 7 outshines the existing class of Android-powered tablets, the Kindle Fire included, for one simple reason: this is the only non-Apple device that I would ever buy.
An iPad-owner and lover since day one, I’ve come to view my tablet, which mind you I never actually refer to as tablet because I’ve always believed the iPad to be superior to any other, as my most pleasurable device. My iPhone and my MacBook Air are utilitarian. I love them dearly, but I think of those devices as necessities, and I primarily associate them with work. The iPad, however, is my play device. It’s my feel-good, sit-back-and-relax toy.
The Nexus 7, which falls into the same category of device for me, has in less than 48 hours eked out a special place in my heart. I find myself reaching for the 7, as I lovingly call it, over the iPad because, well, it’s just so darn cute. I love the size, the feel of the 7 in my hands, the leather-like quality of the back panel, and the overall style of the device.
Holding the Nexus 7 feels right, browsing is fantastic (thank you Chrome tab sync) and fun, and because its running the new Jelly Bean software, the Nexus feels smart, intuitive, capable, and pretty darn slick. Thanks to Project Butter, the 7 feels nearly as smooth the iPad. No major kinks, blips, or bumps to speak of — at least so far.
I also quite like the arrangement of media on the device. As an iOS user, I was a little disoriented at first, but I quickly became acclimated to the idea of apps on one page, books and magazines on another, movies in their own place, and music on its own screen. This configuration makes it all the more easier to appreciate the content and media recommendations served up by Google in each category, which really do seem to get better with time.
But beyond pleasure, there’s something truly remarkable in just how practical the 7 is. Here’s why: when it comes to my web activities, I’ve gone Google. I’m yoked to Gmail, dependent on Google Calendar, tied to Google Docs (and now Drive), leashed to Chrome, and the list goes in. I can’t tell you how convenient it is to have Google as a seamless, interconnected part of the experience. Sure, this isn’t something that’s unique to the Nexus 7, but it’s lovely nonetheless.
Don’t just take it from me though. I talked to plenty of folks at the conference who were impressed by this little sucker.
“I really like it. I used the hotel Wi-Fi and started watching Transformers. It looked really good,” developer and This Week in Google host Gina Trapani told me yesterday. “It’s small and light. It’s definitely a better Kindle Fire.”
Trapani, much more of a-know-it-all than me when it comes to the Android software side of things, was also impressed with the subtleties that Project Butter and Jelly Bean have brought to the Nexus 7 experience. “My main compliant with the Android experience is that it’s slow and choppy, and not responsive,” she said.
But the Nexus 7, running Jelly Bean, provided a much better experience for Trapani. “It’s very smooth, and very fast,” she said. “I can see giving this to my sister-in-law. She’s in the market for a tablet … I’m going to tell her to get this.”
VentureBeat’s gadget guru Devindra Hardawar is also pretty impressed by the Nexus 7, as are gadget bloggers the web round, some of whom went deep into review mode.
Yes, it’s disheartening and a bit defeating that some of my favorite applications aren’t available for the Nexus 7. HBO Go, where are you? I do have a strong feeling, however, that by releasing a stellar device, Google has just given top iOS developers the nudge they’ve needed to build for Android too.
Let’s get to the meat of the matter. Should you buy the Nexus 7? If you’re in the market for an extremely portable tablet and don’t mind the smaller screen size, than absolutely. This isn’t some second-rate device that you should feel ashamed about toting around. No, hold your head high.
Bonus: what you save in price, you can spend on shoes. Okay, that’s just me. But seriously, I’d purchase the Nexus 7 as my primary tablet in a heartbeat. I’d also recommend it to my friends and family members. In fact, this is the very first non-Apple device that I’ve ever said that about — and that’s saying something.
Photo credits: Jennifer Van Grove and Devindra Hardawar/VentureBeat
Filed under: mobile
Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently
Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently:
We've seen so much Ultrabook news recently we're beginning to think they're catching on. Market research firm the NPD Group has stepped in to confirm our suspicions, reporting a 39 percent jump in sales of premium Windows laptops (900 bucks and up) during the first five months of this year, compared with the same period in 2011. Despite a three percent drop in sales of $700-plus Windows notebooks, the Ultrabook share of this bracket increased steadily to nearly 11 percent. The analysts predict sales of these lower-end models will pick up as back-to-school purchases sooth the post-summer blues, with a general boost to the whole Ultrabook market expected when Windows 8 arrives. One thing the figures don't tell us is what impact these sales are having on the revenue of Apple's skinny flagship, but we'd sure like to know. If numbers are your thing, the PR is past the break.
Continue reading Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently
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Continue reading Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently
Ultrabook sales up in first half of 2012, Windows 8 waits patiently originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jun 2012 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Tablets, smartphones, social, and search: what 100M purchases can teach you about online shopping
Tablets, smartphones, social, and search: what 100M purchases can teach you about online shopping:
What can 100 million online shopping experiences teach you about e-commerce in 2012? Apparently quite a bit.Monetate may not be a household name, but the company has its fingers in 20 percent of U.S. e-commerce traffic. With customers such as Best Buy, Comcast, Brooks Brothers, and Anthropologie, Monetate has its pulse on what works and what doesn’t work when selling online.
Today the web testing, merchandising, and targeting company is releasing the results of its latest market survey: Ecommerce Quarterly for the first quarter of 2012. VentureBeat spoke to Blair Lyon, vice president of marketing, and Rob Yoegel, content marketing director.
“Because Monetate influences more than 20% of U.S. e-commerce traffic, we have the opportunity to sample that data in an anonymous and random way,” said Lyon. “So we can see key trends in the marketplace.”
“We’ve seen this huge surge around tablets,” Lyon said. “But not only is the traffic rate going up, the conversion rate is going up too … and sometimes exceeds desktop conversion rates.
Mobile traffic from smartphones is up too, but the conversion rate is still relatively low. The important point for Lyon is that “tablet is not mobile and mobile is not tablet.” In fact, the two are very different: different use cases, different times, and different conversion rates.
That’s something for retailers to think about, said Yoegel:
“Retailers in general will treat people on tablet and smartphones as the same user, and our data is showing that they shouldn’t.”
In fact, tablet visitors are much more like desktop visitors than smartphone users. While smartphone users might be checking a product on the go, or price shopping on the internet while looking at an in-store display, tablet visitors are more likely to be in a buying mode — by a factor of almost three.
Tablet users also view almost as many pages on a site as desktop users, about 11-12, while smartphone visitors view only about seven pages per session.
Traffic from social networks increased between the last quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, and was up 77 percent over a year’s period. And while Facebook drives 60 percent of social commerce visits, Pinterest came from nowhere to over a quarter of all visits.
Twitter and StumbleUpon took up most of the remaining traffic, with LinkedIn driving under one percent.
Search traffic also grew, but not as fast: up almost 25 percent.
First, about half of it bounces as visitors leave without viewing any other pages on the shopping site. Only about three percent add a product to a shopping cart, and less than half of a percent actually buy something.
However, search traffic, particularly from Google, only bounces a quarter of the time, and converts surfers into customers as a 2.44 percent rate.
Lyon attributes this to differing objectives:
“I think the social user is looking at it more from an interest point of view versus a buying point of view,” he told VentureBeat. “Whereas search is targeted.”
One other question I asked Monetate: in the wake of the recent news that Orbitz was steering customers with Mac computers to pricier hotels than PC surfers … are we going to see this behavior in every retailer? In other words, will online shopping start to look like flights, where it sometimes seems that no two people ever pay the same price?
“Everyone is talking about it,” admitted Lyon. “Everyone is trying to figure it out. But it’s all about testing different ways to find out what is the right threshold.”
More highlights from the Monetate report:
Image credit: Keyboard/ShutterStock
Filed under: enterprise, mobile, search, social, VentureBeat
What can 100 million online shopping experiences teach you about e-commerce in 2012? Apparently quite a bit.Today the web testing, merchandising, and targeting company is releasing the results of its latest market survey: Ecommerce Quarterly for the first quarter of 2012. VentureBeat spoke to Blair Lyon, vice president of marketing, and Rob Yoegel, content marketing director.
“Because Monetate influences more than 20% of U.S. e-commerce traffic, we have the opportunity to sample that data in an anonymous and random way,” said Lyon. “So we can see key trends in the marketplace.”
Tablet traffic up
The first trend won’t be a big shock to VentureBeat readers: a major surge in tablet traffic. And, some interesting data around conversion of surfers into customers.Source: Monetate
E-commerce site traffic: the amazing difference one quarter can makeMobile traffic from smartphones is up too, but the conversion rate is still relatively low. The important point for Lyon is that “tablet is not mobile and mobile is not tablet.” In fact, the two are very different: different use cases, different times, and different conversion rates.
That’s something for retailers to think about, said Yoegel:
“Retailers in general will treat people on tablet and smartphones as the same user, and our data is showing that they shouldn’t.”
In fact, tablet visitors are much more like desktop visitors than smartphone users. While smartphone users might be checking a product on the go, or price shopping on the internet while looking at an in-store display, tablet visitors are more likely to be in a buying mode — by a factor of almost three.
Tablet users also view almost as many pages on a site as desktop users, about 11-12, while smartphone visitors view only about seven pages per session.
Social commerce traffic way up
The Monetate study also investigated the impact of social commerce, comparing traffic from social networking sites to traffic from search engines such as Google.Traffic from social networks increased between the last quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, and was up 77 percent over a year’s period. And while Facebook drives 60 percent of social commerce visits, Pinterest came from nowhere to over a quarter of all visits.
Twitter and StumbleUpon took up most of the remaining traffic, with LinkedIn driving under one percent.
Search traffic also grew, but not as fast: up almost 25 percent.
But search converts much better
The difference comes in conversion rates: social traffic converts significantly worse than search traffic.First, about half of it bounces as visitors leave without viewing any other pages on the shopping site. Only about three percent add a product to a shopping cart, and less than half of a percent actually buy something.
However, search traffic, particularly from Google, only bounces a quarter of the time, and converts surfers into customers as a 2.44 percent rate.
Lyon attributes this to differing objectives:
“I think the social user is looking at it more from an interest point of view versus a buying point of view,” he told VentureBeat. “Whereas search is targeted.”
One other question I asked Monetate: in the wake of the recent news that Orbitz was steering customers with Mac computers to pricier hotels than PC surfers … are we going to see this behavior in every retailer? In other words, will online shopping start to look like flights, where it sometimes seems that no two people ever pay the same price?
“Everyone is talking about it,” admitted Lyon. “Everyone is trying to figure it out. But it’s all about testing different ways to find out what is the right threshold.”
More highlights from the Monetate report:
Image credit: Keyboard/ShutterStock
Filed under: enterprise, mobile, search, social, VentureBeat
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