For complete details goto http://bfmp.kajabi.com/

Or click the image…

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Amazon proudly announced they sold over 4 million Kindle devices during the Holiday shopping season (late November through December). Over a million Kindles a week were purchased while e-book sales jumped 175% over last year.

More interesting information comes out of these figures. It’s not just about Amazon success. In fact, Amazon is suspected to have been losing money on every Kindle Fire sale (that can be read more than one way), but the huge increase in e-book purchases may have made up for that.

Kindle Sales Figures

The big news, from Amazon’s perspective, was in Kindle device sales. All three Kindle family products (Fire, Touch, and standard Kindle) held the top 3 spots on Amazon’s bestsellers list for the entire month of holiday shopping. The Fire was the most wished for and gifted product on the site this season as well.

Overseas, it was the top selling product in the UK, France, Spain and Italy.

Further, Amazon was prepared and had no back order issues this year and actually outpaced Apple’s iPad in sales as well.

E-Book Winners and Losers

With e-book sales up over 175% from last year, many authors and publishers made out very well this season. Interestingly, the number one and number four best selling electronic books this year were both self-published by the author independent of publishers via Kindle Direct Publishing. That’s an amazing statistic and shows something important: the old paradigm of publishing houses is falling.

E-books as gifts followed the sales trends, with year-on-year numbers matching sales growth. Christmas Day was the largest day ever for Kindle book downloads, which makes obvious sense.

The losers? Big publishing houses. Most of them count on hard-copy book sales during the holiday season and their sales figures this year were not so good. They remained relatively constant with little growth. Amazon reported that more e-books than hardcover books were sold during December and self-reported numbers from publishing houses seem to corroborate this with last year seeing more e-books sold than hard copies, as of February 2011.

Third-party Amazon.com Sales

Third-party sellers, now a big part of Amazon.com, also made out well this year. Third-party sellers experienced record holiday growth with 44% more $5,000+ sellers on Amazon than the year before. This makes sense, given the new, expanded, and easier-to-use seller platform Amazon rolled out and has been advertising heavily.

Bestseller Of All?

The best seller of all, according to Amazon numbers, was Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography. By a landslide. It was the most-browsed, most bought, and most gifted thing on Amazon ever.

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The Basics

Let’s start with the most basic (but, nonetheless important) differences between the two devices. Physically, the new iPad 2 weighs in at only 1.3 pounds, making it 15% lighter than its predecessor. It is also about 33% thinner – and of a physical change to make a completely noticeable difference in user experience between the two. The battery, which can be charged via USB or the included adapter, lasts up to 10 hours, even when you’re surfing the web, video chatting or playing games on the brightly backlit screen. Plus, the battery of the iPad 2 charges faster than the original, even though its 59% smaller.

The Hardware

Even though the physical differences are interesting, when you ask ‘What does the new iPad 2 have?’ you really want to know ‘What kind of cool stuff can it do?’ The new iPad 2 doesn’t let you down with new hardware that includes a forward-facing camera that allows you to chat face to face with other iPads and supported devices plus a rear-facing camera that can also be used. Both cameras are able to take both video and still pictures that can be morphed and changed using the included software.

There’s also a 3-axis gyroscope, 3-axis accelerometer and a digital compass housed inside so the device reacts quickly and accurately to tilting and shaking – making it the perfect controller for tons of games and apps.

The Speed

Here is where the new iPad 2 really takes off. It is powered by a dual core Apple A5 processor, which results in a processing speed twice as fast as the original iPad and graphics processing power of up to nine times that of the original. Translation? The iPad 2 has some serious ‘go power’, click the button and apps, games or anything else will load instantaneously.

The iPad 2 is able to surf the internet with blazing speed. It runs off of a Wi-Fi connection with the option to upgrade to a 3G connection so you can view just about any web content with incredible speed. You won’t have to sit and wait for your Facebook games to load!

We can’t forget about all of the optional accessories either. The new smart cover was made exclusively for the iPad 2. The incredibly thin cover attaches to the device magnetically and can also work as a tilt stand. Plus, the microfiber lining inside the cover cleans your screen every time you close it. There are also accessories that can connect the the devices video output to a television, connect a keyboard or control the device with a remote.

So, the next time one of your friends asks “What does the new iPad 2 have?” You’ll know just what to say – everything!

No related posts.

This is a controversial view, given that Windows is still the predominant operating system (OS) on PCs today and has been for decades. The fact that there are almost no Windows-powered tablets is another issue. The other problem with the headline the report generated is that the report itself is not about the home PC market at all – but rather about business computing and specifically corporate infrastructure software.

=== Why the Context Matters

In this instance, context matters a lot. The IDC report was specifically targeting business IT and the CIS software they use to upgrade and keep their networked systems all on the same page. If you work at a business that has multiple machines on a network, chances are whoever is in charge of those machines (your ‘IT guy’) is likely using CIS to keep those machines all up to date.

In that context, the report means a lot less than headlines have made it out to mean. Yes, Windows 8 is going to likely be a large flop next year amongst corporate users. Why? Because most savvy corporate IT managers do not upgrade to the latest and greatest from Microsoft until well after its release – many waiting until a year later when MS typically releases the first major patch update.

This is for a variety of reasons, the largest of which is prudence given the shaky past of the Redmond Giant’s new desktop releases. Why have your corporate network fall to shambles because of an upgrade when you can bide your time and wait for the more stable version instead?

So the context is in the corporate, networked PC market, not the computing market at large. In that regard, Windows 8 will probably be as successful as 7 was before it and XP before that. It will be standard on all new PCs purchased at retail soon after its release and it will dominate whatever Windows tablet market there is because it will be the only Win offered there.

=== What Microsoft Really Hopes To Accomplish With Windows 8

The focus of Windows 8, at least in marketing and reporting so far, has been its touch screen interface. This will be optional, so PCs with a traditional mouse will be fine, but it’s a big step for MS because it throws them into the realm of tablets. Microsoft is seeing its precious corporate market, where it makes a large chunk of its annual income with everything from Windows to services to networking, turning to the only viable tablets on the market – none of which use Windows. The iPad has been gaining big strides in taking the lion’s share of that emerging corporate tablet market and Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do. Tablets are also replacing Netbooks, which is another market MS had basically cornered for themselves.

Windows 8 will be what they (hope to) do get back in the game with. Will it work? Maybe. This will largely depend on how fast Win 8 tablets can come to market and how well they’ll be designed for enterprise and (perhaps) personal use.

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If you haven’t embraced mobile as part of your retail sales efforts, maybe you should. IBM’s Coremetrics Benchmark has released data suggesting some interesting holiday shopping trends for this 2011 season. They’re saying that mobile retail traffic will more than double, for one.

It’s expected that during November-December, 15% of those logging into retailer websites will be doing so through mobile devices. In addition, IBM sees online retail as a whole growing by 12-15% during the season over 2010 numbers – a welcome boon to staggering retailers.

=== Where do these numbers come from?

Obviously, a company like IBM doesn’t just create these numbers as estimates out of thin air. That’s left to marketing ‘gurus’ and pundits. These numbers are based on October, 2011 trends versus what October of last year showed.

This year, about 11% of people using retail websites were doing so from mobile devices like smart phones, tablets, and e-readers. That’s more than double last year’s numbers of 4.2%. Close behind those numbers are the retail sales via mobile which were at 9.6%, on par with last year’s 3.4% as a percentage of visitors vs. buyers in mobile.

=== Wait.. 87% of mobile surfers are buyers?

Well, not quite. Actually, like on the Web as a whole, most website visitors are browsers, not buyers. What the numbers show is that 9.6% of the 11% of visitors are purchasers, not that 9.7% out of 11% are. That’s somewhat different, but still significant.

What’s more, IBM’s numbers are showing that with the explosive growth of Android devices (there are now more of them than Apple devices), it’s expected that they will show similar levels of shopping as iPhone and iPad users have. The iPhone accounts for about 4% of overall traffic to sites while Android accounts for about 3.5%.

The iPad, of all of the devices measured, was the real retail seller’s dream, however. In overall mobile device sales conversions, rates are about 3.6% (roughly double what they are for the non-mobile Web). The iPad? 6.8% – nearly double the rest of the mobile market.

=== So what other trends can be expected?

Good question. Social commerce is playing a larger role in shopping, it appears. October numbers show that 9.2% of consumers who visit a retail website from a social media site like Facebook end up buying something. That’s almost double (5.5%) of direct online shopping numbers.

Another trend that can be seen is in comparison shopping trends. More and more users are utilizing tools that allow them to find the best price or product before making a purchase. This can be expected to only keep growing with the holiday shopping season.

=== So what does this mean for Joe and Jane site owner?

It means that if you aren’t embracing mobile users, you should be. Even if you don’t sell items directly from your website, you are likely seeing and will continue to see a lot of mobile access to your site over time. My own websites are showing roughly 7% of visitors are on mobile devices and that’s up from last year.. by a lot. I expect yours are the same.

The mobile Web is coming and if you aren’t a part of it, you’re going to be left behind.

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Lately, the subject of e-readers has been a common one. With Amazon just releasing their ground-breaking new Kindle Fire, dropping the price point to within easy grasp of most people, and with Barnes & Noble doing the same with the new Nook Color predecessor that released Monday, many are wondering why these not-quite-tablets are doing so well in comparison to others.

To put it bluntly: most people really don’t need and aren’t interested in computer-replacing tablets. Most want something that can do a few basic tasks and nothing more – but it’d better do those tasks well.

=== The Tablet Isn’t a Computer

Most tablet manufacturers, including Apple, are aiming to replace computers. They market their machines as if they were computers – emphasizing specifications and brawn. This appears to be the wrong approach as most users aren’t interested in that.

Instead, they want something else.

=== Selling Based On User Experience

Apple has been close to the mark with the marketing behind the iPad, but they’re still aiming to sell the device mainly to smart phone users. Both Amazon and B&N, newcomers to the gadget scene, are coming at it from a bookseller’s point of view and emphasizing instead their devices’ functionality in terms of the user experience.

Both the Kindle and the Nook are roughly half the price of the full-fledged tablets being sold and both are capable of roughly half the functionality. They emphasize, however, what they are really good at: providing a good way to read electronic text, surf the Web, and watching videos. This is what they are made for and it’s what they do. These, plus reading email (which they can also do) are apparently the functions that the vast majority of tablet consumers really want.

Sure, there are a million and one (I’m guessing here) apps that the iPad can run and there are thousands of software choices that any of the tablets from Samsung, Motorola, etc. can run as well. The problem is, judging by sales numbers, those aren’t the things users want.

Instead, they want a well-priced, affordable device that provides the basics. So they turn to Amazon and B&N.

=== Additional Costs Are the Crutch Holding Back Others

Another crutch holding back most tablet computers is the monthly cost of access. With nearly every tablet out there, the user must also have a monthly subscription to get wireless data access – usually through a mobile carrier.

Neither the Nook nor the Kindle require that. They come ready to stand-alone, without any modification or hoop-jumping, and connect to the user’s home or office WiFi network. That’s it. No $40 a month contracts or data usage limits.

=== The Lesson To Be Learned

This shows that there is a huge market for mobile devices as a whole and that most are interested in specific things with them. They aren’t necessarily interested in computer replacements, but instead are interested in life enhancements. Looking at the sales numbers proves this.

The Nook, Kindle, and iPad (which is also not a computer replacement) are outselling all other tablets by a wide margin. Even removing the iPad from the equation shows that the Nook and Kindle are killing full-computer tablets.

So building something that works really well and does a handful of key tasks that most everyone wants and will find useful, all while keeping the device under a $300 price point, means it will sell well. Cheap and useful beats costly and cumbersome every time.

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Tablets themselves, he continued, would be a $70 billion market in 2014 (up from $10 billion last year). With Android and Apple systems facing off, those in the marketing industry will need to diversify to stay current.

=== Why Tablets Matter in Marketing

Tablets will replace notebook and even Netbook computers for many users. Currently, iPad adopters are almost exclusively males aged 22-45 with an upper-level income. This is one of the hottest and most sought-after markets out there and they’re using tablets.

This trend will grow and as tablets proliferate, their market audience will widen. Tablet users tend to be more engaged, more apt to focus in a single-tasking environment, and to be more accessible for marketing.

If you get in early.

=== The Tablet App Explosion

Every major manufacturer of gadgets and small computers is ready to or is gearing up to enter the tablet market. Many of those about to release products are utilizing Google’s Android operating system to compete with Apple’s iOS.

Meanwhile, applications developers are feverishly putting out new apps for these platforms. Most popular apps on smart phones are being ported to tablet use and many custom apps that utilize the benefits of a tablet (larger screen, faster processing) are rocketing to the top of the charts right now.

=== Marketers Should Get on Board

This means those who are marketing to Internet and Web users need to think about the mobile market and the emerging power of tablets.

RBC expects Android to have a 40% share of the tablet market by 2014, which will steal Apple’s thunder. Most tablets are also going to be carrier-nonspecific, so they will not be tied to any single mobile phone network ñ or any network at all, for that matter. A new proliferation of budget tablets from Asia is already beginning to penetrate ñ most using Android ñ so this bears out RBC’s expectations.

Vendor-specific tablet operating systems and requirements will be short lived as well, another blow to Apple.

All of this means that the fastest-growing newly-emerging market for advertising is going to be tablets. It’s mobile, active, growing very quickly, and will be packed full of target markets and consumers.

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The latest trend to be noted amongst those who watch such things is that social media is losing some of its lustre with some users. A visible decline has been seen starting in February of this year, denoting a possible plateau during the Christmas Holiday and now falling steadily.

The Trend Itself

The trend is a 10-day moving average in terms of number of tweets on Twitter using The Daily’s iPad application. The app’s usage peaked at about 220 tweets per day in early February, then dropped quickly and significantly down to about 85 per day by the end of the month.

It’s since shown steady usage with ups and downs until mid- to late-March, when it began ti decline again ñ though at a steadier pace. On about Mar 20, it had been averaging around 85 tweets per day, but at the end of the month had dropped to about 50 per day.

You’ve probably noticed two things about this data.

What It Really Means

The trend itself is not about social media at all, though that’s where most of the headlines discussing it have gone. The truth is, these numbers represent a drop in the user activity and interest in one of the newest news outlets – this one being The Daily, the iPad-specific news app.

Let’s face it, though: a headline saying that social media is dying gets a lot more reader interest than one that says The Daily is dying.

To be fair to the information’s collectors at Niemen Labs, though, the numbers of some other gadget-specific news outlets were also considered. They show roughly the same results, though not in as dramatic a way as those of The Daily.

What the data really seems to be saying is that current (paid or unpaid) applications for finding news using the iPad are lacking. Users seem to be dropping them, or at least not using them as often. The high point for The Daily was during the Holiday season and into the New Year when the app was brand new and was getting heavy publicity as part of Apple’s push for the release of the iPad 2.

Since then, users have complained about the app’s shortcomings and basically heard the “we’re working on it” line. In the fast-paced world of the Internet, “working on it” for more than a few days or even a week means losing users. The longer you take, the more you’ll lose and the harder it will be to win them back. The Daily seems to be missing that point.

The Future of The Daily

With the losses over time that The Daily appears to be sustaining, according to Niemen Labs’ information, it’s not likely that the app will survive without a major publicity effort. In their favor, though, Daily promoters can also note that Twitter itself is losing users as well. Many use it as a glorified RSS feed for their blogs and despite its best efforts, the Twitosphere has become inundated with spammers.

So where will The Daily go? If they’re smart, they’ll revamp their app to match user expectations and then they’ll make another huge marketing push. If they wait too much longer, though, they’ll have a tough row to hoe and may have waited too long.

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Within the last month Google users started noticing the absence of the QR code on their Place page. This was met with dismay, joy and even indifference by business owners. This code, which seemed like a good idea, never really took off.

[Sidebar] Google is a fairly reliable indicator of what will and will not become successful. Are they always right? Nah… But, they’ve got some serious brain power behind their decisions and their recent choice to drop this technology means the bloom is now officially off the QR Code rose…

Google confirmed that they’d removed the QR codes from Place Pages and are currently exploring new and better ways to replace the technology.

Google is doing a campaign on the east coast to promote alternate technology and spread the word. However, unless it’s cost affordable OR it catches on with the public like wild fire this may all fizzle out like the QR codes that never really took off.

[Sidebar] If Google is throwing money into “promoting alternative technologies” and “spreading the word” then you will be going against Google’s massive marketing might if you choose to back QR Codes. This is a fight you most likely will lose. Time to stop beating a proverbial ‘dead horse’ and change horses…

References:

• http://ca.gizmodo.com/5787427/qr-codes-goodbye-and-good-riddance
• http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/31/google_qr_codes_nfc/
• http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-Bored-with-QR-Codes-Drops-them-from-Places-on-to-NFC-Next-192400.shtml
• http://www.seroundtable.com/google-places-qr-codes-gone-13193.html
• http://2d-code.co.uk/qr-code-rip/

So is it “RIP” for QR Codes?

Only time will tell…

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Nearly every business can benefit from using mobile marketing and advertising methods. Whether your business is virtual, brick-and-mortar, or both, you can utilize this new and powerful marketing tool in some way.

Defining Mobile Marketing

To start with, let’s define the phrase ‘mobile marketing.’ The Mobile Marketing Association defines it as:

‘..a set of practices that enables organizations to communicate and engage with their audience in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network.’

Broadly, this refers to mobile phones, smart phones, wireless handheld devices such as the iPad or ultra-portable netbooks, and so forth. Usually, the focus for mobile marketing is on mobile and smart phones, however. The term ‘wireless marketing’ is often used, though this is less descriptive.

Common Mobile Marketing Tools

Marketing to cellular phones didn’t really hit the main stream until about five or six years ago. This was due to the introduction and wide adoption of short message service (SMS) ñ text messaging. At first, the methods were pretty ad hoc with a lot of hit-and-miss attempts (and angry consumers). Since many wireless carriers were charging customers by the message, these customers would get angry when businesses sent them unwanted texts.

Eventually, as unlimited SMS plans became common and marketers became more savvy about opt-in methods, this smoothed out to the common practices used today. Today, most mobile marketing is opt-in and requires the potential customer to actively sign on to marketing lists. This is usually done by having them send a text to a corporate number (often a five- or six-digit number) to opt-in.

Systems have been built around this marketing to include opt-out options for the user (generally by sending a message to the corporate number again) and even allowing for surveys and interactive, automated communications.

Newer phones are capable of multimedia message service (MMS) interaction on top of SMS. This allows for images, short videos, audio and other media to be sent to the mobile phone. Most newer phones with a colour screen are MMS capable. This is the newest and hottest trend in mobile marketing right now. It otherwise works in the same way as SMS marketing and often uses the same systems.

How the Small Business Can Utilize Mobile Marketing

The SMS and MMS systems listed above are cost-prohibitive, of course, so many small business owners believe them to be out of reach. Third-party providers and services, however, are now proliferating the market and allowing greater access to small business.

Mobile Web marketing is another tool used by businesses looking to tap the portable market. This is basically the same as any other Web-based marketing, but is targeted towards mobile Web surfers rather than desktops or laptops.

Other services, not necessarily meant for mobile marketing, but becoming used for it, are also becoming highly popular. This is especially true of geo-location-based games such as Foursquare and Gowalla. Using these games, which are becoming very popular (and fast), businesses can leverage their ‘profiles’ and other advertising tools within the games to market themselves.

This geo-location marketing is currently the hottest, fastest-growing trend in mobile marketing. It’s simple to get involved with, costs little to utilize, and has a user base that is growing exponentially.

Any way you cut it, mobile is the future and, right now, has the least amount of competition for the most active (and interactive) users online. It’s expected that the money spent on mobile marketing will double every year for the next few years, getting into the tens of billions by 2015.

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