Tag: Business
Apple explores new music options – iTunes Pass
This is what I like to see – innovative new ways of buying music that encourages people to actually spend money on bands they love. Venturebeat reports that Apple is experimenting with something called iTunes Pass, which allows fans to buy a pass for a certain group or artist and then get everything that artist releases for a given time period.
Apple’s piloting it with Depeche Mode. You can buy a pass for $19 and you’ll get the band’s new single right now, the album when it comes out, and some other exclusive tracks too. You’ll also get any videos and artwork that the band puts out before June 16th, which is when the pass expires.
All the content you get is DRM-free, though it will show up in Apple’s AAC format. Apple also guarantees that the value of the pass won’t exceed the value of the individual items, so you’re getting a good deal however you look at it.
For my favourite bands, I’d definitely sign up for this. For stuff I’m less excited about, I wouldn’t, but that’s not really the point of the scheme. It’s about making fans feel special, giving bands a greater connection to those people, and maybe actually making some money off music again. Good work, Apple.
Is it something you’d use? What bands would you sign up for if they were offered? Let us know in the comments.
(via Venturebeat)
MWC 2009: Acer unveils its "Tempo" range of smartphones
Acer, unbeknownst to me, is actually the third largest global PC maker and lately, after the success of their netbook – the Aspire One, they’ve been announcing some smartphone ambitions. Well, those ambitions are coming to fruition in the form of the “Tempo” series of smartphones, pictured above.
First up is the M900. It’s business-focused, coming with Windows Mobile 6.1, Outlook Mobile and Office Mobile all pre-installed. There’s HSDPA, a 3.8″ WVGA touchscreen, GPS, FM radio, a 5-megapixel camera and a fingerprint scanner for security purposes. There’s also a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Nice. Next!
The F900 is more consumer-oriented, and designed for internet usage. Theres the same 3.8″ WVGA touchscreen as the M900, GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera, FM radio, HSDPA, and Wi-Fi. It’s got the new Mobile IE6, too. Unfortunately there’s no keypad – everything is done onscreen.
Then there’s the X960, which is a little lower-end. It’s got a 2.8″ VGA touchscreen, nav button, Outlook and Office mobile, GPS, and a 3.2 megapixel camera. That’s all we’ve got for specs right now – but I’m presuming there’s some 3G involved. I would hope so, anwyay.
Lastly, there’s the dual-SIM DX900. It supports both 3.5G and 2.75G SIM cards, so that you can have a business SIM and a personal SIM in one phone. On top of that there’s a 2.8″ VGA touchscreen, “3D animated icons”, a dedicated flight mode button, 3.2-megapixel camera and Outlook mobile preinstalled.
So, overall then, a varied bunch of middling-spec phones, more targeted at the business end of the market than the consumer end.No word on release dates, but my wildest guess would be Q2. No word on pricing, either, but as these are business phones, you can expect them to come with some sort of bulk discount for companies.
COLUMN: Facebook – will it still be around in five years?
Facebook’s now been around for five years, but will it still be around in five years’ time? There’s a long and a short answer to that question. The short answer is yes. A website, operating at www.facebook.com, will still be going in five years. That, assuming the internet survives the next five years, is a given.
But will it still be the cultural force that it is today – 150 million users worldwide, twice the size of its nearest competitor, leading to academic misconduct, arrests, multiple lawsuits, house-trashings and viruses? I suspect the answer might be no. Click over the jump to find out why.
Epson shows off new EB-8 Series desktop projector range
Epson has decided that it’s time to produce some more “projectors that work well from a table top” and to that end has introduced the EB-8 Series.
Aimed primarily at the educational and business markets, the series offers up to WXGA resolution, a colour light output (Epson’s new measurement system that for the moment makes it impossible to compare this to any other manufacturers’ models) of up to 3,000 lumens from a 200W lamp, white light output (brightness) also up to 3,000 lumens, optional wireless functionality, and the ability to be used with Epson’s new Document Camera (basically enabling you to present things via USB without the need for a computer or laptop)…
Twit4Hire – a company who'll Twitter on your behalf, for cash
I can understand people not having the time to update a blog. To grow a blog properly it needs time, effort and careful feeding of the community. A Twitter account, on the other hand, requires considerably less effort – 140 characters, perhaps twice a day? Well, if even that’s too much for you or your business, then Twit4Hire is the company for you.
It’s targeting business who want to “get on the Twitter” but haven’t got a clue how to go about it. Or they might have a clue, but can’t spare the resources. Either way, Twit4Hire will sit there and chat to legions of followers about nothing your business on your behalf.
I’m not sure I could recommend employing Twit4Hire. Do it yourself. For top tips on how best to use Twitter for marketing and PR, visit this handy site, instead.
Twit4Hire (via TechRadar)
Related posts: Tweetminster lets you follow your MP on Twitter | Twadio – silent radio station launches on Twitter
Windows 7 gets schizophrenic, multiple personalities emerge
Oh dear. It’s the move that everyone was hoping Microsoft wasn’t going to make, but it looks like it’s going to make it. Seems that Windows 7 will come in a bunch of versions – much like Vista – titled Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate.
The news surfaced in a screenshot on a Chinese blog depicting Beta build 7025. Most people are running 7000 – which is the version currently (but not for much longer) available to the public.
Microsoft’s forthcoming OS has been getting rave reviews from all corners of the internet – even those traditionally very pro-Apple. I’m a big fan myself – I’ve got it installed on a laptop that struggled with Vista, and it runs like a dream. It remains to be seen exactly how cut-down the ‘Home’ versions will end up being, and if unlike Vista, the Ultimate edition is worth the extra cash.
(via Engadget, image courtesy of regular commenter Leon)
Related posts: Microsoft extends availability of Windows 7 beta | Windows 7 public beta available NOW
Helphound.com – local business review site, plus dispute resolution
I know what you’re thinking, yet another business review site. On the face of it, that’s true – at first glance there’s nothing separating Helphound from Yell, WeLoveLocal or TouchLocal. Look closer, however, and you’ll find plenty to like.
Much like the aforementioned sites, Helphound provides a community centered around reviewing organizations and businesses. Helphound’s differentiating factor, though, is a dispute resolution mechanic, where businesses can dispute a bad review, allowing them to remove it temporarily from the site and try to engage the customer instead. If they fail, the review goes straight back up.
Belkin is 'extremely sorry' for buying good reviews on Amazon
Belkin’s slapping its own wrists, after The Daily Background caught them offering 65 cents for every good review posted on Amazon.com, and asked participants to “Mark any other negative reviews as not helpful”. Rather shady, no? Well, it turns out that Belkin’s upper management agree, and have issued a full apology.
The upper echelons claim not to have been aware of the tactic, which was instigated by one Michael Bayard, a Business Development Representative at Belkin. All the requests are now down, and any reviews posted have been removed. Still, I suspect Mr Bayard is now either out of a job, or keeping his head way down.
Belkin’s apology (via Geek.com)
Related posts: Belkin JoyPod to bring pleasure to iPhone gaming | Belkin Podcast Studio / GoStudio
NOISE GATE: 6 Tenets for a New Music Industry – Conclusions
It’s okay, you can open your eyes again. I’ve reached the end of my Six Tenets series. I hope it’s proved interesting and perhaps even useful. The way people consume music is changing very fast right now, faster than it ever has done before. At the end of it, will there still be the same infrastructure we have now? I highly doubt it. So, in full then, here are my recommendations:
- Music must be sharable – word of mouth is more important than ever
- Revenue must come from multiple sources – if one bit of the industry becomes obsolete, it shouldn’t sink the whole ship
- New technologies are to be welcomed and understood, not feared and litigated against
- A&R can be crowdsourced, but remember the long tail
- “Added value” is key – give people a reason not to pirate things
- Your artists are your most important spokespeople
Acer intros S1200 HD-capable video projector
Acer may not be the first name you think of when it comes to home cinema, but for a bit of business use and some sneaky Wii gaming, the S1200 could be a decent bit of kit.
This DLP-based projector features Acer’s ColorBoost II technology for enhanced colours and picture quality, and has a brightness of 2,500 ANSI lumens and 2,000:1 contrast ratio. It can also push out up to 1,680 x 1,050 resolution, so it won’t do a terrible job of high definition content…
