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Too many cooks: The heat is on in the catering business
FROM some angles, it looks like boom time in the catering industry, especially on the consumer front. The number of catering businesses rose from 395 in 2014 to 450 in 2017, public data from the Department of Statistics (SingStat) shows. Citing growing demand for "more gastronomic experiences", Chris Loh, creative director of Rasel Catering, tells The Business Times: "It's actually a flourishing industry. The only thing crippling the industry is the labour crunch - the lack of expertise." But other figures paint a less rosy picture.
Caterers saw total income dip by 2.8 per cent between 2016 and 2017, to S$939 million, according to data provided by SingStat to BT this month. Over the same period, operating surplus slipped by 4 per cent to S$168 million. Full-year numbers for 2018 are not yet available.
This came even as restaurants, fast food outlets and other eateries posted modest upticks in operating receipts, which include both sales and other operating income. Restaurant receipts inched up by 0.08 per cent to S$3.73 billion, while fast food chains improved by 4 per cent to S$1.14 billion. In the food and beverage industry, operating receipts come mainly from sales.
Meanwhile, data for the year to last November shows caterers' year-on-year sales ranging from a slide of 20.5 per cent in January to a high point of 7.5 per cent growth in February, which is when Chinese New Year fell last year. December 2018 figures will only be released in February 2019.
And that's not taking into account a rash of year-end food poisoning cases that cast a pall over catering here. Tainted food from the Mandarin Orchard hotel, caterers FoodTalks and Tung Lok Catering and Spize restaurant in River Valley sent scores of diners to doctors, with one fatality.
Litany of woes
True, the industry has seen a flurry of headline-grabbing mergers and acquisitions (M&As), including Catalist-listed Neo Group's S$1.8 million deal for a majority stake in Lavish Dine and S$4.4 million purchase of Ye Liang How Catering Service last year.
Meanwhile, Swensen's franchisee ABR Holdings struck a deal for Nyonya food and beverage group Chilli Padi in 2017. The mainboard-listed ABR paid S$14.8 million for 80 per cent of Chilli Padi, which owns Chilli Api Catering, and has a put and call option for the remaining stake.
But trigger-happy companies may risk spending beyond their means.
In a report last November, RHB analyst Juliana Cai flagged the debt issue at Neo Group, which has brands including institutional catering and tingkat (tiffin carrier) delivery arms, as well as Neo Garden, Orange Clove, Deli Hub and Chilli Manis.
"As the group continues to embark on an acquisition spree, we view the high net gearing ratio of more than 1.9 times as worrisome amidst the rising interest rate environment," Ms Cai wrote then.
"We note that the new acquisitions could take more time to turn around and ramp up, while the high interest cost erodes the earnings of its core catering brands."
Separately, mainboard-listed electronics distributor Serial System paid S$4.5 million for a 21 per cent stake in caterer Tong Chiang Group in 2015, only for various Tong Chiang units to be put under interim judicial management in August last year. That was followed by a winding-up application from creditor Maybank, according to bourse filings from Serial.
Both consolidations and shutdowns could point to the impact of rising competition in Singapore's crowded food and beverage sector.
Catered food prices rose by 1.1 per cent in 2018 over the previous year, according to the latest inflation data from SingStat. This is more sluggish than the 1.5 per cent average price increase across the food services segment.
Rizwi Wun, who heads the consumer brands industry group at RHTLaw Taylor Wessing, identified higher costs and a failure to adapt as key challenges for local caterers. "In some cases, this has led some businesses to close down," he adds.
"With sufficient resources, consolidation through M&As could be a solution if it supports a company's corporate strategy. Larger players can acquire niche caterers to pursue a multi-brand strategy in an effort to capture more segments of the market. Furthermore, food manufacturers and other related suppliers are also prime takeover targets for caterers to achieve greater economies of scale across the value chain.
"Smaller players without the same financial resources should turn to alternative means to survive."
Neo Kah Kiat, chairman and chief executive of Neo Group, tells BT that customers can no longer be relied on for loyalty.
He ticks off other issues: "The family-owned businesses are very lean, but the newcomers have chefs. Business is also not very consistent. A contract-based business has benefits, but the profitability is very, very low, and the cost pressure is getting higher."
And, on top of logistics difficulties and manpower costs, even advertising has had to change, Mr Neo says.
"It used to just be newspaper advertisements, but now there is social media and a lot of expenses, as you need a team to market your business," he laments. He tells BT that he spent up to S$4 million on marketing last year - a far cry from S$50,000 or S$60,000 in the old days.
Other food and beverage operators - from upmarket eatery Nara Thai to the grande dame of Singapore cuisine, Violet Oon - have also started muscling onto caterers' turf. And that's not counting the premium private dining niche, where some top restaurants now provide a catering option, such as the one Michelin-starred Garibaldi, or have their chefs cook for private events.
Singapore-based Clubvivre, which was set up in 2012, is an online booking platform that matches organisers of small gatherings with set menus from private chefs.
It saw about 1,000 bookings last year, with half of those coming from repeat clients, according to chief marketing officer Maria Kuvshinova.
Meanwhile, Chinese restaurant group TungLok started catering in 1998 and now has two segments: TungLok Catering and the mass-market Bellygood Catering. These make up about 15 per cent of the group's business. Andrew Tjioe, president and chief executive of TungLok Group, says: "The fact that our catering business is still going strong and improving shows that there is an active market in this business segment.
"While many occasions are held within our restaurants, there are many other events which require to be held at external venues. Having a catering unit allows us to offer our cuisine out of our restaurants and remain competitive."
And Rasel's Ms Loh says that hoteliers are "major players" and the main competition for the group's Purple Sage brand, which specialises in meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) events.
Her business partner and managing director Alan Tan adds: "We do a lot of events at Gardens by the Bay, which is in the Marina Bay area, so we have people like the Ritz-Carlton coming in, Conrad coming in... All these hotels are coming in, so when we have a pitch, it is always against these hotels."
Ms Loh thinks that caterers can go the distance better, as hotels' hands are tied by a focus on rooms. "Tell me what you would like to have to impress your clients from overseas, and we will do the food for you," she says.
"Tell me what experience you would want to have and we will give you the set-up - the kind of table linen you want, the kind of table layout that you want.
"I think this is something that the hotels lack, not because they can't do it, but because their hands are tied. They have other key performance indicators to look at."
Still, the price pressures seem to be keenly felt across the whole industry.
Clubvivre's Ms Kuvshinova, who founded the company with her husband, says: "Our margins are quite small, let me tell you." One reason she cites is that competition keeps her prices neck and neck with higher-end restaurant offerings. She estimates that the average ticket for a Clubvivre event is S$750 for dinner for six to eight people.
"We're not lowering the prices more," Ms Kuvshinova adds. "It has to make sense because we are contracting the chefs."
She declines to give details of her company's latest accounts, but corporate records show that Clubvivre made a profit of S$17,159 on revenue of S$297,817 in the 12 months to Nov 11, 2017.
This was after annual losses of S$60,463 in 2016 and S$222,945 in 2015, which forced Ms Kuvshinova to rethink her business model and focus more on home events - rather than corporate clients, who "I wouldn't say stay loyal to you" because they may angle for repeat-customer discounts or shop around for vendors more.
Adapt and grow
Given Singapore's small pond, bigger fish do have natural advantages.
"In this industry, it is not easy to grow revenue," says Mr Neo. "But, in terms of profits, if the company is big, then - with economies of scale - the profitability kicks in."
Central kitchens - which Mr Tjioe dubs "a must in the catering business" - are one example.
But as Mr Tjioe also notes: "The question is, how big should your central kitchen be? Operators would not want to have a central kitchen which is over-sized. It can be a double-edged sword if expenses are too high."
Besides industrial-size kitchens, larger caterers also have the piggy banks to invest in better technology.
Mr Neo tells BT: "Caterers are facing a lot of pressures, which is an advantage to our catering division because we are bigger and have strong technology. Many people do not understand that the catering business is about technology, which you need to spend time introducing."
Neo Group and Select Group won Business Excellence Awards in 2017, with both caterers' process automation initiatives commended by government agency Spring Singapore (now part of Enterprise Singapore).
Initiatives included automated potato peelers and egg breakers at Neo Group, which kept the manpower turnover rate below the industry average, as well as an L-shaped conveyor belt in a Select Group central kitchen and an e-procurement systems that boosted productivity.
Rasel's Mr Tan also notes: "Normally, high-end restaurants would fit about 50 to 60 people, so their capacity and kitchen staff are lean. Seldom would they close the restaurant and go out to do an event, unless it has really good margins and price. Our forte is that we have a central kitchen where we have good food systems in place."
That's the supply side taken care of.
As for demand, caterers have experimented with setting up and buying companies and brands for various segments - as Neo Group has done and as Rasel has hinted it might do.
The privately owned Select Group runs two dedicated catering arms - Select Catering and Stamford Catering - as well as a catering arm under Chinese restaurant chain Peach Garden.
These brands, which have contributed a stable one-tenth of the group's revenue, are aimed at mass-market consumers, a spokesperson tells BT. Select Group most recently reported S$187.7 million in full-year turnover.
"Select Group will continue to strengthen our presence in the Singapore catering market by offering new products that cater to the needs of the market," says the spokesperson.
She cites offerings that can cater to fewer than 20 people, "as we see an increased demand in the number of orders for smaller groups".
"We will also continue to study food trends to create new products - for example, Korean, Japanese and local cuisines," she says.
The Select spokesperson declines to give more details on the breakdown of the catering business across segments such as home and corporate events. But players such as Rasel's Ms Loh and Neo Group's Mr Neo tell BT that both corporate and private clients are increasingly willing to splurge on trappings for event set-up and ambience.
Mr Tan adds: "Dropping prices is not the only way to win and increase market share. In the context of Singapore today, such a high-cost space, dropping prices is like killing yourself. You have to reinvent your model and stay at the forefront in your products."
While consumer demand may grow, Mr Neo believes cost pressures and logistics challenges will force smaller players to throw in the towel.
"The number of caterers will slowly be reduced. Competition will not be as fierce... The expenses are huge. It is difficult to sustain, and the business is not one where you have the same volume every day."
Being selective and exclusive actually pays, say caterer Rasel
RASEL Catering, formerly known as Rasa Selera Food Service, became Singapore's second halal-certified caterer two years after opening in 1997. Over a decade later, co-owners Alan Tan and Chris Loh were toying with the idea of setting up a non-halal arm to add to the business.
But another opportunity fell into their laps instead: Boutique caterer Purple Sage came onto the market.
So Rasel bought Purple Sage in end-2014, in its push into the non-halal market, with Mr Tan and Ms Loh naming prominent architect Ong Tze Boon as the vendor. While they would not get into specifics, they say that the deal was for a "seven-figure sum".
Since then, Mr Tan and Ms Loh tell BT, they have turned Purple Sage around - by ruthlessly cutting customers who couldn't afford to pay top dollar.
About four-fifths of the business is corporate, with Rasel tending to local clients and Purple Sage targeting foreign visitors in the Mice market.
Executive chef Teo Yeow Siang uses international conferences as an example of the target clientele. "For events like these, we have a lot of requests for sustainable products for the ingredients that they want," he says. "So we are buying locally farmed fish (see amendment note). It's very difficult to get farm-to-table fish in Singapore to cater for 300 or 400.
"The cress and some of the vegetables we use are also locally grown. We also try to source from Malaysia, which is nearer, because when people do these events, they are also looking at reducing the carbon footprint... And we try to work out our menu and the whole event with them."
Competition at this end of the spectrum tends to come from hoteliers, says Ms Loh: "There is a perception among consumers that hotels can deliver better, higher-quality, premium."
But she believes that her brand can hold its own, as it has invested in an emphasis on personal touches (which don't come free, either).
Its office in Pandan Loop comes stocked with a live kitchen area, to wow potential clients, as well as fabric swatches in a plethora of hues for table and place setting mock-ups.
According to its latest publicly available records, Purple Sage made a post-tax profit of S$174,404 for the year to Dec 31, 2016, as revenue nearly tripled the year before, to S$2,035,126. This was after two straight years of six-figure losses.
Purple Sage recovered from earlier fiscal haemorrhages because its new owners decided to kick out blushing brides and bargain hunters, Ms Loh says: "The wedding market was a big chunk of what we've been cutting off... Institutions as well."
While Purple Sage still caters for weddings - with tea buffets at between S$18.80 and S$38.80 a pop - she adds, in a reference to the Hollywood hit about conspicuous consumption: "We realise that we can do only the more prestigious weddings... I'm not saying we want to do the Crazy Rich Asians kind, but we try to do that segment and we're getting quite a number of enquiries on that level."
Citing an earlier practice of giving discounts of 20 to 50 per cent, she blames mismanagement, rather than industry fundamentals, for Purple Sage's deterioration.
"Many clients from institutions like schools, which previously could not afford Purple Sage, now could," she says. "And there were a lot of big, lower-end companies."
Does this strategy mean that Rasel and Purple Sage will stay exclusively in the premium market segment?
Mr Tan responds: "We do not want to be a jack of all trades and master of none. At the end of the day, we came up from food, so whatever we do has to be food-related."
But as to whether the partners could buy more mass-market brands, Ms Loh says it's "not a definite no - to complete a holistic picture of catering". She adds that it has been embarrassing to redirect potential Purple Sage customers to other caterers.
"We will not deny the opportunity if it comes by, to do catering with no-frills, since we can already do it with a lot of frills," she says. For instance, she and Mr Tan are mulling over retail kiosks and institutional catering, as well as a "Simply Buffet" brand that "is in the pipeline (but) we have not decided when to launch it".
The Rasel co-owners say that they are working on a timeline of three to five years for the expansion, and added that the group's combined turnover is on track to cross S$10 million in the 2018 financial year.
- By Annabeth Leow
Amendment note: An earlier version of this article quoted executive chef Teo Yeow Siang as saying that "we are raising locally farmed fish". The company has since clarified that it buys the fish and does not rear them. The article has been corrected to reflect this.


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The luxury real estate market is highly competitive, but agents who harness technology, the media and their own social networks for marketing can make fortunes.
It was about three months ago when a potential client asked if Luciane Serifovic could meet in Beverly Hills about a potential high-end real estate deal. Serifovic had recently launched her own brokerage, Luxian International Realty, catering to what she describes as high net worth individuals, so the meeting was right up her alley.
The only problem: The potential client gave Serifovic just two days notice to make the meeting.
Oh and also: Serifovic is based in New York City, not Southern California.
But that didn’t stop her.
“I literally dropped everything,” Serifovic recently told Inman. “I booked a flight and stayed at the [Hotel] Bel Air for two nights. All on my penny.”
The episode might be extreme, but it’s also fairly par for the course for real estate professionals working at the luxury end of the market. Luxury is a niche that requires more work, more resources and more panache than perhaps any other in real estate. But it’s also one that rewards its practitioners with multi-million dollar fortunes and fame rivaling that of some of their own clients. A number of the top agents operating in Los Angeles, after all, have themselves risen to become reality TV stars in their own right.
Everyone who spoke to Inman for this story agreed that breaking into the luxury market isn’t easy. Real estate is a tough game at any level, and luxury is tougher still.
But numerous sources said that it is actually possible to make it as a luxury agent, even for people who lack a blue-blooded pedigree or millions in startup capital. The key is to work hard and to work intelligently, using surgical precision to build both a brand and tell stories about listings. It’s marketing, in other words, but on a lot of really expensive steroids.
Different agents have different strategies for how to best do that, but what follows are some of the tips, tricks and advice that agents shared with Inman for marketing in the most exclusive slice of the real estate industry.
So what exactly is luxury real estate anyway?
If we’re going to talk about luxury, it’s useful to have a definition of what exactly it is.
Obviously, the biggest thing that sets luxury properties apart from other listings is the price, which varies considerably from place to place. Michael Nourmand, president of Nourmand and Associates Realtors in the Los Angeles area, told Inman that in his market he typically views a property as a “luxury” listing if it’s priced over $10 million.
On the other hand Allison Chiaramonte, a Warburg Realty agent in New York City, said that in her area “luxury” typically starts at $5 million and goes up from there. Different agents across the country gave different figures for their markets, but the sky is really the limit; Gary Gold, executive vice president at Hilton & Hyland in Beverly Hills, recalled selling the Playboy mansion for $100 million. And Gold currently has the listing for Chartwell Estate, a mansion priced at nearly $200 million.
Meghan Barry, president of broker network Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate, agreed that there is tremendous variation from market to market in what counts as luxury, but said that in general the term applies to the top 5 to 10 percent of properties. There are exceptions but usually you know luxury when you see it.
“Luxury is really the most desirable places where people want to live,” Barry said. “There’s always a place where people want to live. Whether that’s Park Avenue in New York City or Bel Air in the greater Los Angeles area.”
But money is also only the tip of the iceberg. Lisa Chajet, also a Warburg agent in New York City, told Inman that in addition to high asking prices, luxury properties in her market tend to have a host of amenities such as gyms and pools and roof decks and on-site service personnel.
And even if the price tag is high, the apartment needs to be move-in ready to attract luxury buyers.
“If an apartment needs work, I’d have a very hard time marketing it as luxury,” Chajet said.
Nourmand also pointed out that location, as the old adage goes, is everything.
“It’s Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Holmby Hills, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades,” he said of his market. “That’s where the concentration of luxury properties are going to be.”
How do you market yourself as someone who can work with these kinds of properties?
Barry told Inman recently that she knows an agent who for decades sold mid-tier homes. The agent was good at what she did, but also felt stuck in that lower price range despite wanting to work with high-end listings.
Eventually, however, the agent figured out a strategy to help her climb higher: Shape the narrative.
“She didn’t post about the $300,000 sale,” Barry explained of the agent’s online activity. “She started posting about the $600,000 sale. Little by little, people gained this perception that that was what she was doing.”
The tactic worked and gradually the agent began working with higher-end listings, Barry said.
The episode highlights the idea that successful luxury marketing begins long before an agent actually scores a luxury listing. Instead, it starts with personal branding, as the agent figures out how to win listings in the first place and prove to potential clients that she or he has the ability to close deals.
Other methods for building a personal brand include developing some kind of calling card that other industry pros recognize. Barry, for example, has seen agents host catered lunches at their broker open houses to the point that good food becomes a part of their personal brand.
Aaron Kirman took a different approach in his early days, opting to structure his personal brand around architectural homes. It took time, but he gradually managed to earn a reputation as someone who handled “cool” houses and today has represented a number of famous properties, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ennis House.
“I built my name and my brand around that and those houses,” he explained, adding that eventually the connections he made through those listings helped him move up to mega-mansions worth many millions of dollars.
On the other hand, Serifovic — who prior to founding her own brokerage worked at Douglas Elliman and Town Residential — is willing to travel.
“I’ve flown to Saint-Tropez to meet with clients,” she said, referring to the glitzy corner of the French Riviera. “It’s really expensive, but that’s how you can penetrate into that space.”
The list of strategies could go on, but the point is that, as Kirman put it, agents need a “niche” that sets them apart from anyone else. And they need to make sure everyone else knows what that niche is.
“I think it’s really important to talk about yourself,” Barry added. “To talk about the things that you do and the concierge service that you offer.”
Luxury branding can be a particular challenge for newer agents who may lack the resume of more experienced partners, or for those who might have mostly worked at lower price points. But Gold suggested people in that situation can team up with more veteran agents.
“If you’re moving up from what you’re normally used to doing,” he explained, “I would co-list it with somebody who knows what they’re doing.”
Gold also suggested newer agents can frame prior experience, even in other industries, as an asset.
“If you’re brand new in the business and you haven’t sold an expensive home you can’t say I’ve got the experience,” Gold pointed out. “But what you could say is, ‘I come from the fashion industry.’ Or, ‘I was the head of publicity for a record company.'”
So what do you do when you actually get the listing?
Devising a press strategy
Luxury properties almost universally require more than posting a few pictures on the local multiple listing service (MLS), and the agents who spoke to Inman said that one of the first things they often do when it comes to marketing is try to generate media attention.
“We always start with great press strategies,” Kirman explained. “We think that that tells a great story.”
Audie Chamberlain, founder of public relations firm Lion & Orb, specializes in this kind of marketing strategy and recalled recently working on the sale of a home that once belonged to weight loss guru Jenny Craig. In that case, the press strategy involved giving media outlets advance notice before the listing actually hit the market, which generates early buzz for the property.
In another case, Chamberlain was called upon to help with the sale of a home that had belonged to Neil Young. It was a challenging situation because Young was recently divorced, raising concerns among his handlers that his personal life could overshadow the listing. But Chamberlain devised a media strategy that “made it all about the property” rather than the divorce. And it worked.
“There were over 30 media pickups, it went everywhere around the world and no one ever mentioned the divorce once,” Chamberlain recalled.
The key to this kind of marketing, according to Chamberlain, is telling a compelling story about a property that will appeal to both reporters and their readers. And while he has worked on some truly jaw-dropping properties, he also said it’s a “myth” that this strategy only works on celebrity-connected homes worth many tens of millions of dollars.
In fact, a good press strategy is beneficial even on much more modest homes without a fancy pedigree.
“We find angles like a local city councilman or local university professor,” Chamberlain said. “It might be that they used reclaimed wood from a local hardware store that’s going out of business. We had a property in Pasadena that was $2 million and we got it on the cover of Pasadena Magazine. There’s a lot of emotion that agents and brokers don’t even know that they’re sitting on.”
The other key to a successful press strategy is understanding of how the media works.
“It’s knowing the Wall Street journal and having that relationship,” he explained. “We know the criteria they’re looking for. We know when it has to be filed. We know if we can get it in the Financial Times verses Bloomberg.”
Hiring a publicist
Last fall, Nourmand & Associates scored a listing for a swanky penthouse condo overlooking the beach in Santa Monica, California. The unit is, for lack of a better word, incredible. It sprawls over 8,000 square feet, has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, a huge skylight over the living room, and wrap-around balconies. Nourmand called it one of his favorite listings and Rochelle Maize, one of his agents, represented the unit, which was listed at $15 million.
A property like the Santa Monica condo obviously requires agents to pull out all the stops. But Nourmand said that in this specific case, a dedicated public relations firm was actually brought in to help get the listing on the radar of potential buyers.
“You’re hiring a PR company where their job is to generate press for a specific property and then to plan an event around it,” he explained.
The event took place last October and included a DJ, a bar and tubs filled with plastic balls, among many other things. Nourmand described the overall theme as “beachy.”
Nourmand said the party also had a carefully curated guest list. Invitees included real estate agents working in the same market who might have buyers, as well as Instagram influencers — who subsequently blasted photos of the property out to multitudes of followers.
Collectively, four of the Instagram influencers who ultimately attended the event have more than 1.5 million followers. And the images they shared ranged from photos that could pass as listing shots to pictures that look like something out of a fashion magazine.
Victor Lund, founding partner at consulting firm WAV Group, said that years ago, hiring a public relations firm to hype a listing was rare outside of big flashy markets like Los Angeles. However, in recent years companies like Trulia, Zillow and Realtor.com began publishing online content that “tells stories” about properties. And that pushed the envelope in terms of how agents and consumers understand real estate content.
“People love to read that stuff and you get tons of traffic to your website,” he observed.
As online real estate companies began packaging content in more compelling ways, agents realized that they could do the same thing. That has since fueled more wide-spread interest in creative marketing strategies, as well as in the publicists who specialize in those strategies.
It’s hard to specifically quantify the results of some publicist-oriented marketing, but multiple industry professionals told Inman that these more holistic and non-traditional marketing strategies represent a growing trend right now, particularly for luxury properties.
“It really went mainstream a few years back,” Chamberlain said.
“It’s probably the biggest trend over the last year or so,” Nourmand added.
And it apparently works; that Santa Monica penthouse Nourmand & Associates was selling went on the market on Oct. 15, 2018 and closed on Nov. 21 for $14.5 million.
“I’m not entirely convinced that the whole PR campaign is what sells the property, but you can’t argue with the fact that it does get attention,” Nourmand concluded. “I think it is helpful.”
Making a listing pop
Nourmand said that he has also seen a trend recently in which really expensive homes are named. Perhaps the most famous example of this lately is “The One,” a $500 million L.A. megamansion that has generated loads of media attention and lots of glossy publicity materials.
Nearby Beverly Hills is home to the “Opus,” described in the listing materials as the “most spectacular modern house ever constructed” in its area. The Opus also garnered attention (and some derision) for its extremely racy marketing videos, which featured a number of scantily clad women in masks, lingerie and gold paint.
Neither the Opus nor The One have sold yet, but if nothing else they offer noteworthy marketing case studies. The Opus’ Eyes Wide Shut-esque “red band trailer,” after all, has been viewed more than a million times on Vimeo.
The fact that they haven’t sold also hints at another key aspect of luxury marketing: price.
“There has to be something unique about your property and a combination of having the right agent to explain the selling points,” Nourmand said. “But I think at the end of the day, you have to be priced right.”
What role does technology play in luxury marketing?
More immersive visualizations
Lund described effective visualizations for luxury properties as “table stakes,” which is to say, agents absolutely have to get the imagery right.
The role and importance of good photos is widely understood, and as properties like the Opus show, luxury real estate videography is getting more and more… ahem, creative.
But in recent years new options have emerged to give potential buyers a much deeper visual experience. Lund pointed for example to companies like Matterport, which offer interactive tours of homes akin to Google Street View.
He said that this 3D technology, combined with virtual home staging services, can potentially save sellers and their agents time and money, while at the same time helping far-flung buyers better imagine themselves living in a property.
These kinds of technologies are already being deployed for listings at many price points, but Lund suggested that they can be particularly useful for luxury properties because they can also potentially protect the privacy of wealthy clients.
Lund cited the example of retired tennis greats Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf selling their home in California’s Marin County over a decade ago for $20 million. At the time, the famous couple was forced to move valuable possessions in and out of the home to in order to limit public knowledge of their assets.
Today, however, that wouldn’t be necessary in part because visualization technologies let sellers add or remove items from an image digitally during the marketing phase.
Better use of data
Lund also said that over the last decade, luxury agents have increasingly begun to harness data to build networks of potential clients. One way they do that is through companies like Wealth-X, which track ultra high net worth people who may operate through LLCs that shield them from normal lead generating tools.
“I have a lot of friends who are super wealthy and they don’t even have credit,” Lund added. “Their name isn’t on the grid.”
Wealth-X was founded in 2010 and is essentially a database of records on very wealthy people. Matthew King, Wealth-X’s manager of business development, told Inman that the company has traditionally focused on people with a net worth of $30 million or more, of which there are about 160,000 in the world. More recently, Wealth-X has begun tracking people with a net worth between $5 million and $30 million.
“We have about a million people in our database today,” King said, adding that the archive is continuing to grow.
Wealth-X compiles a dossier on those wealthy people using public records, and subscribers can use those dossiers for lead generation or qualification. The service isn’t cheap — pricing varies but generally starts around $22,000 per year — but it can provide a useful, data-oriented pathway to an exclusive group of people who are otherwise hard to track down.
How do you market properties that don't even hit the MLS?
A number of agents who spoke to Inman said that there are cases when extremely exclusive properties don’t ever hit the open market. This can happen for a variety of reasons — maybe a famous person owns the house and has privacy concerns — but it raises a unique challenge for agents tasked with marketing the listing.
Gold, of Hilton & Hyland, has extensive experience with this kind of sale.
“I’ve sold a bunch of houses the never hit the market,” Gold added.
Agents can market such properties exclusively within their own offices, a practice known as creating an “office exclusive.” Gold said this is a common and effective strategy at his firm. He also said agents in this type of situation can (at least for the time being) discreetly call other luxury agents in the market who might know potential buyers.
Either way, though, an agent’s personal network is the key to selling homes that don’t hit the MLS.
Lund also said there are tactical choices agents can make when selling off-market properties. Multiple listing services sometimes include an option that lets agents enter a property, but stipulate that it doesn’t show up anywhere online, for example. That option means that other agents, possibly with buyers, will be able to see the property, but “it doesn’t go out anywhere else,” Lund said.
What else can agents do to market luxury properties?
There are tips, tricks and tactics when it comes to selling luxury real estate, but the professionals who spoke to Inman said that good old fashion networking is still the most important strategy.
“In the end, it’s really about who you know, which is the case with all real estate,” Lund said.
Case in point: Lund used to live in New York and belonged to a Buffalo country club. Everybody in the area was a member, and most sellers found their buyers through their in-real-life social networks.
“They may just mention to a friend that they’re selling and then boom,” he said. “It’s brother to brother, neighbor to neighbor.”
Barry made a similar point, saying that agents tend to score listings, find buyers and generally sell houses more easily when they are embedded in their community.
“With luxury brokers,” she said, “so frequently they’re living in the markets that they sell in.”

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Gwyneth Paltrow made headlines recently after announcing that she would be selling a candle that smells like her vagina.
The candle will set customers back $75 and is simply called "This Smells Like My Vagina."
Paltrow made a public presentation at the National Retail Federation at the Javits Center Tuesday, per Page Six, where she addressed the controversy surrounding her intimate product.
"I think people have mixed reactions to me and to all women stepping outside the box that they are very comfortable with us being in and doing something else. I have been in the public eye for a long time, and I understood that was going to be something inherent in this journey. Sometimes I think of the headwinds I've had to face growing this business, and then I think of some male counterparts who started businesses at the same time, and it's pretty incredible what we've come up against,' she said.
Since announcing the candle, the Hollywood actress says that traffic to her site, GOOP, has increased.


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As calls to reopen Alberta’s economy grow louder, many essential businesses are still operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Business as usual, it’s not. But business in extraordinary times, with extraordinary effort, is going on.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
And it offers some clues about what must be done for the provincial economy to slowly get back into gear and more businesses — and jobs — to return.
Take a look at Alberta’s electricity and trucking-logistics sectors, two key pieces of the economy charged with keeping the lights on, supply chains operating, and grocery and drug stores supplied.
At TransAlta Corp., the largest power generator in the province has 1,600 employees, with 800 working on the front line, operating and maintaining its plants, noted CEO Dawn Farrell.
It has put in place new measures, such as temperature checks on employees, travel bans, contingent work teams and social distancing protocols. About 600 employees are working from home.


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Blog: The next China is China – except when it's not-China
Leonie Barrie | 3 April 2012
Back in the UK after a week in Hong Kong, what is there to report on the issues sitting at the top of the apparel and footwear industry's agenda?
Among executives at this year's Prime Source Forum it seems that everyone's still talking about China...but while it's a conversation we've been having for the past six years or so there is, as always, a slight shift in focus.
The next China, it seems, is still China, but higher wages, a dwindling workforce, and rising inflation continue to throw up concerns over its competitiveness. For footwear and more complicated, value-added styles, flexibility and speed to market, China is still the place to be. But when it comes to high volumes and entry price points, leading options in Asia include Cambodia, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Also on the sourcing radar for the first time is Burma, with palpable excitement about the country's apparel possibilities - and $1 a day wages - tempered by the realities of its complete lack of infrastructure.
That said, efforts to expand beyond China and find cheaper labour elsewhere are throwing up new challenges of their own. Where else has the capacity to absorb production shifts? What about the option of importing labour into or across China? And instead of chasing the cheapest needle across the globe, why not draw costs out of the supply chain through greater collaboration between brands and retailers and their suppliers and service providers.
The only certainty, perhaps, is that change is inevitable across the sourcing model, regulations and markets. Apparel and footwear are global industries with global reach, but competitiveness will ultimately be determined by individual consumers in individual markets. And when it comes to social media, not only is this capable of providing a big boost for business but also has the potential to put a company out of business through poor product and process allegations.
A couple more takeaways from the past two days:
"In 2013, China's working population will hit the point where it starts to decline."
"If the 300m people in China consume in the way the Americans do today, there won't be enough yarn in the world to satisfy this demand - and it will be here in 2020."
"If everyone in China bought one garment a month, then monthly production would be 1bn."
"The fashion industry must work together now to close the talent gap, if it wants to avoid a very real problem 20 years from now."
An online tool to help apparel brands, retailers and manufacturers work towards improved wages for garment workers in global supply chains has been updated in a move that marks another step towards th...
Apparel brands have been urged to stay committed to Cambodia after a 28% rise in the minimum monthly wage was agreed for textile, garment and footwear workers....
US firms including apparel retailers and importers are urging the government to intervene in the ongoing dispute at US west coast ports, amid worsening delays on shipments of holiday merchandise and f...
- Slow fashion: a fast-growing opportunity?
- Rethink needed as low-cost labour options dwindle
- African apparel sector needs cooperation to thrive
- New wage ladder lifts workers towards living wages
- US retailers to face logistics issues into 2015
- Tazreen Fashions compensation agreement outlined
- Puma commits to 100% PFC removal
- Gap unveils management changes as Q3 profit rises
- Long-running SL Garment dispute settled
- China's apparel sector ponders sustainability


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AutoGuide News Blog
The AutoGuide News Blog is your source for breaking stories from the auto industry. Delivering news immediately, the AutoGuide Blog is constantly updated with the latest information, photos and video from manufacturers, auto shows, the aftermarket and professional racing.
Despite a slew of new hybrids joining the market this past year, the Toyota Prius retains the top spot as the most fuel efficient vehicle in the U.S. There is a catch, however, with no electric vehicles (like the Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt) being included in this year’s round of testing – yet.
With a rating of 51/48-mpg (city/highway) the Prius easily out-paces the second-place Fusion Hybrid, as well as the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid at 41/36-mpg. In third spot are the Honda Civic Hybrid and Insight at 40/43-mpg.
The new Honda CR-Z places 4th with the CVT transmission (but 10th with the manual). Hyundai’s new Sonata Hybrid has not yet been tested either, although it should out-rank the Fusion Hybrid to fit into second place.
For a full breakdown of the top-10most fuel-efficient vehicles, see after the jump:


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It would once have been unthinkable... student bars closing due to falling alcohol sales.
Yet that's exactly what's happening at one Welsh university where students are preferring to spend their time at the student union coffee shop.
Aberystwyth University's students union said it was closing a student bar as fewer students were using it at night.
Union president Ben Meakin said a surplus made by the bar had dropped significantly as cash-strapped students were drinking more coffee during the day while studying, and fewer were going out later.
It had needed to spend £30,000 refurbishing the "tired" union bar, called Cwrt Marw, but Mr Meakin told the BBC it was not certain that the student union "could secure a return on its investment".
Instead, the union is to invest money to make the main union building more appealing during the day and offer a wider choice of food and drink and a nicer place for students to be.
Aberystwth is not alone the National Union of Students (NUS) Wales has reported a rise in the number of on-site coffee bars in recent years.
Glyndwr University shut its union bar and moved it last summer and Cardiff Met chose a coffee bar franchise.
In March, the NUS published a report for student unions, which charted a decline in the popularity of student union bars in favour of privately-run pubs, clubs and bars.
It highlighted coffee shops as a "promising prospect", adding that in order to increase sales of non-alcoholic drinks, students' unions would need to embrace the whole "coffee experience".
This summer Glyndwr University Student Union bar closed and relocated to the nearby Centenary Club, which is part of Wrexham FC's Racecourse Stadium and now owned by the university.
Cardiff Met Students' Union president Ruth Foster said it has a number of food and drinks facilities on campuses for students, but that it does not try to compete with clubs and bars in the city.
Among some of its facilities, it runs a Starbucks coffee shop with others also available on campuses.


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Deconstructing growth in 3D-printed packaging market
According to a research conducted by Transparency Market Research (TMR), manufacturers have been adopting 3D printing in packaging, owing to obliteration of tooling. It states that the 3D-printed packaging market is set to grow steadily over the forecast period of 2018 to 2028.
23 Dec 2019 | By Aultrin Vijay
One of the biggest growth factors of the market, according to the study, includes the need to make packaging attractive, since it is important to the millennial population. It’s not only interactive but also exciting and engaging. “The scope of global 3D-printed packaging is limitless in terms of formats and creativity and thus is a favourite with contract manufacturers,” the study stated.
Moreover, pharmaceuticals are said to be utilising the technology to build prototypes that are functional. Several other players are also said to be using the technology for making prototypes of packaging and constructing moulds for thermoforming parts.
According to a press note shared with PrintWeek, the robotics arms used in production also use 3D printing, adding to the growth of the global 3D-printed packaging market.
“All this leads to the market charting a steady CAGR, creating opportunities which are rich and lucrative for global 3D-printed packaging market players. On top of it, the CAGR will contribute to the growth in market worth over the period of 2018 to 2028,” the note stated.
Key developments and dynamics of the market
The study stated that 3D printing has had a troubling history of competing with alternative technologies for price. However, one of the key characteristics observed in consumers is a large affinity towards packaging designs, which are more exciting, engaging, and interactive. 3D printing would enable designers and engineers to do that.
According to the TMR study, the possibilities with 3D printing in the packaging industry are limitless, especially with bespoke packaging formats. The technology is also anticipated to play a pivotal role in the growth of contract manufacturers. It also enables a company to efficiently add real-time innovation to a packaging line.
The road ahead
The study has found that 3D printing would eventually be routinely used as a means of manufacturing products related to end use.
In the recent years, the market has witnessed a growing interest for personalised packaging among brands and packaging manufacturers. For instance, Coca-Cola’s Share a Coke campaign and Nutella’s personalised jars of chocolate spread displaying the name of the consumer.
“Many beverage and alcohol brands are now selling NFC enabled bottles, which can be connected with smartphones, which denotes that the trend of personalised packaging is unlikely to become obsolete anytime soon,” the study stated.
Therefore, experimenting with 3D-printed packaging would be of great interest for brands. However, there are several challenges to be faced down the line. High investment is required for 3D printing equipment, along with skilled operators. Also, mass production of large volume glass bottles is a feat yet to be achieved.


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Facebook's Rebranding to Meta. What's new?
|What is meta
A week after announcing its new company name Meta and announcing its 10-year strategy, the company said on Thursday that it is adding features to Facebook to increase the platform’s appeal to users and prevent competition from other services. Social networks such as TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube. Facebook has decided to advance in the ever-evolving Internet world through Metaverse, aiming to take virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to new heights. As an important step in a new direction, the social media giant changed its name to Meta on Thursday.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg, speaking at the company's virtual and augmented reality streaming conference, said the new name reflects its investment work in the metaverse, rather than its eponymous social networking service, which will continue to be called Facebook. Along with the recent name change, many users are wondering if Facebook's social media platform will change to include the Facebook metaverse. While Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg says apps and their brands don't change, and the new company will continue to focus on building technologies that help people interact with each other, all brands and apps share a new vision to help bring the metaverse to life. ... And the adoption of the new name, the CEO explained, is intended to demonstrate the importance of a new business in the metaverse that will operate separately from Facebook's social media apps.
Facebook has refocused on Metaverse seven years after acquiring Oculus. The company produces virtual reality headsets that allow people to play virtual 3D games. The company’s vice president of augmented and virtual reality, Andrew Bosworth, also announced on Thursday that the Oculus name will be discontinued and its hardware and applications will now run under the Meta brand. According to Facebook, Metaverse is not only about augmented reality and virtual reality, because people will access the virtual world through a range of new devices, including headsets and glasses, as well as existing computers and smartphones.
Facebook also noted that it hopes to create tools that will be used in one metaverse, and not in a world where there are many different and disparate virtual worlds. Facebook says it does not want to own the Metaverse and provides tools that will allow developers to link their platform with other developers. The VR worlds of Facebook, which are already open to developers, are likely to become a Ready Player One-style meeting place that will then allow these new worlds to be connected within itself.
Facebook, which makes Quest headsets, makes Oculus. At the annual virtual reality conference on Thursday, Zuckerberg showed his vision for how we will work and play in the metaverse. Zuckerberg announced the new name of his company in a 90-minute speech, in which he believed that Metaverse would be the future of his company and the Internet. Zuckerberg also highlighted his company's efforts to create new products for Metaverse, including new virtual and augmented reality hardware, highly realistic digital avatars, and new video game features.
However, trying to delve deeper into the virtual metaverse and adopt Meta as the new company name is something Facebook plans to use to make a major shift in its business as a whole. Facebook gave us an idea of what exactly we could see in its metaverse when it announced the Horizon Workrooms VR Remote Work app in August.
He also began investing millions of dollars to build the metaverse using his existing and new assets. This year, the company created a product team in this metaverse-focused division and recently announced plans to recruit 10,000 people in Europe over the next five years to work on the project.
Going forward, the company will be “primarily a metaverse,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said today, meaning that over time, you won't need to use your Facebook account to access other products under the Meta umbrella. But the company that manufactures and services them will now be called Meta, similar to Google's 2015 corporate restructuring into parent company Alphabet. On October 28, Facebook (the company) even changed the logo on the outside of its building.
28 of October. (Reuters) - Facebook Inc (FB.O) is now Meta, the company said Thursday, as part of a rebranding to create a "metaverse," a shared virtual environment that it is betting will be the successor to the mobile Internet. ... The name change comes as the world's largest social media company is grappling with criticism from legislators and regulators for its market power, algorithmic decisions, and tracking of abuse of its services. Change is an attempt to focus his work on the "metaverse" as it relates to a set of augmented and virtual reality features that he believes will be the future of social media. But it could also be an attempt to divert attention from ongoing controversy.
Facebook wants to look ahead and is taking on a new name to highlight this. Facebook unveiled a series of new augmented and virtual reality moves on Thursday as part of its long-term effort to create a "metaverse" that will bring physically distant people closer together. It seems clear that Facebook wants to migrate its identity-driven business model to sell targeted ads to the metaverse.
And some who have thought about it for a while are worried about the new world of the social media giant that may have access to even more personal data and accused of failing to stop the spread of dangerous misinformation and other damage online. exacerbate real problems. Zuckerberg was optimistic about the metaverse, believing it could replace the Internet as we know it.
The future of the Internet will be virtual and Meta, says the company known to the general public as Facebook, believing that by the end of the decade 1 billion people will be working and playing in an immersive 3D world called the Metaverse. ... These worlds, which he calls the "metaverse", will open up new forms of art, music, entertainment and business. Essentially, no company will run the metaverse: it will be the "embodied Internet," said Zuckerberg, decentralized by many different actors. While Facebook or Meta, more operatively, may want to downplay the centralized elements and assume that it will not be a key platform for choosing the metaverse, that is indeed the goal - and although Meta is more specific that the metaverse will be “built with the help of creators. “And developers creating new experiences and interacting digital objects,” the truth is, someone's going to have to throw up this party and create a platform that makes that kind of connection.
I think all these different initiatives that we are doing on Facebook today are basically to help build the vision of the meta-universe. I hope that if we do it right, I think in the next five years or so, in the next chapter of our company, I think we will really get rid of people who see us primarily as a social media company. , Became a Metaverse company. ...


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The stock market has been on a wild ride since the start of the year, with the Dow last week topping 14,000 for the first time since 2007, only to give back some of those gains earlier this week . However, discount retail stocks haven't participated in the stock market's peaks lately. Specifically, dollar store stocks, such as Family Dollar , Dollar Tree , and Dollar General have been consistently declining since last year.
Let's dig deeper to find out what's in store for discounters in 2013, and how investors should trade these names going forward.
The value of a dollar store
Dollar store stocks have fallen out of favor with investors lately as a result of slowing sales growth and shrinking margins . In fact, of the three companies mentioned above, Dollar General is the only stock that is up so far this year, with a gain of about 3%. Meanwhile, Family Dollar is down more than 10 % year to date, followed by a more manageable 2% decline in shares of Dollar Tree .
This is a dramatic reversal from just a few years ago, when sales at these companies during the recession climbed higher along with their stocks . Over the past five years, all of these stocks have risen more than 100%, as you can see in the chart below. This trend is shifting, however, and some analysts worry that increased competition from big box discounters like Wal-Mart and Target could push the dollar stocks lower from here.
"Wal-Mart says it is spending $1 billion a year to lower prices in part to lure those customers back" from stores like Family Dollar and Dollar General," according to the Wall Street Journal. Similar to dollar stores, both Wal-Mart and Target sell groceries at most of their locations. The idea is to get more customers through the doors on a regular basis.
Both Family Dollar and Dollar General have continued to beef up their food offerings over the past two years . However, this strategy could do more harm than good because of the especially low-margin nature of the grocery business. Last month, Family Dollar blamed strong food sales for its disappointing quarterly earnings .
Dollar General is also feeling the pinch of weaker profit margins . But that hasn't stalled its aggressive expansion plans. Already the largest of the dollar-store chains, Dollar General recently revealed plans to open 635 new stores this year. The company's CEO, Rick Dreiling explained:
2013 will mark another growth milestone as we plan to open the organization's 11,000th store before the year's end .
With the highest returns to date, Dollar General appears to be the clear winner among the dollar store chains. However, the company's rapid expansion could hurt near-term profitability.
As a result of margin pressures and increased competition, dollar store stocks will likely continue to be volatile in the year ahead. That's why investors may want to look elsewhere for market beating returns.
The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his number one stock for the next year. Find out which stock it is in our brand-new free report, "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." I invite you to take a copy, free for a limited time. Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.
The article Should You Dump These Discount Retail Stocks? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Tamara Rutter owns shares of Target. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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0W-20 Mobil 1 is being marketed to Ford and Honda owners. It isn't recommended by Mercedes Benz.
I'm getting the feeling that the American public has been brain washed into believing that front wheel drive, V6 engines and low viscosity oils are good. Well, there are reasons why the automobile companies are pushing those things and it is all about government regulations and controlling costs.
I'll bet that no Honda engineer would ever use such a viscosity. It makes absolutely no sense at all other than to give companies the opportunity to claim a few tenths better EPA mileage to keep them from having to pay gas guzzler tax.


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|PS3 / VITA||USA|
By Ishaan . November 12, 2013 . 12:33pm
Sony have closed a number of their game development studios these past few years, while supporting certain others in their place. While Wipeout developer Studio Liverpool was closed down in 2012, Uncharted developer Naughty Dog has thrived. While SOCOM developer Zipper Interactive no longer exists, Killzone developer Guerrilla is still around. And those are just a couple of the studios that Sony have closed this generation.
In an interview with Gamasutra, Sony’s Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida provides some insight as to why this is. The issue, Yoshida says, is that mid-sized console studios are facing challenges across the industry in general. Due to this, Sony have been closing down some of their studios while investing in what they view as their top teams.
“So we have supported some studios—Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica, and Guerilla—to become able to produce multiple projects at the same time, while we shut down mid-sized studios who were struggling to compete… that’s in reaction to the changes of the time,” Yoshida shares.
Getting consumers to spend $60 is hard, and the only way to do that is by offering bigger titles that far outclass those of the mid-sized titles, Yoshida feels. He goes on emphasize: “It’s been a bloodbath of medium-sized games for the last two years… the market is extremely hard for smaller, mid-sized games these days.”
Mid-sized studios have a serious question to ask themselves, Yoshida says: “if you are making a studio, like 40 or 50 people studio, it’s a really tough age—whether they try to grow and compete to become triple-A, or if they try to do indie-style small development. It’s really a good, critical question for many of the mid-sized studios.”


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A new rumour suggests that the 6.1-inch iPhone will debut in 5 different colours but red is not one of them.
Earlier this month, there was a rumour claiming that Apple would be launching the budget 6.1-inch iPhone X in a multitude of colours — grey, white, blue, red and orange. However, a recent report by Macotakara contradicts this claim a bit and states that the budget LCD iPhone X will be available in White, Black, Flash Yellow, Bright Orange, Electronic Blue, and Taupe or Gold.
If this report is true, then it goes against what reputed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said about which colours they would be available in. From this new leak, we can gather that the common colours from both rumours are orange, white and blue. Macotakara’s sources claim that these colours will be based on the colours iPhone X’s current line-up of leather cases.
This bit of information regarding the late release of the red iPhone should come as no surprise as Apple usually releases a Product (Red) iPhone at a later date to give it importance.
The 6.1-inch LCD iPhone X aka the budget iPhone X will cost USD 700 (approximately Rs 48,191) and the interesting part is that it will come in a plethora of colours.
For now, we should take this information with a pinch of salt as more concrete leaks will show up closer to the launch date.
Disclaimer: The above report is completely based on online rumours and leaks from the respective sources. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of The Asian Age and/or other staff and contributors to this website.


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As you shop for smart home devices this holiday season and beyond, you might notice the new Matter logo on product boxes across various brands. But what is Matter, and why does it matter? Let's break it down.
Matter is a new global, open-source standard that aims to simplify the smart home ecosystem by allowing internet-connected devices from different manufacturers to simply and securely communicate. This represents an important collaboration between competing companies working towards a common goal: to advance the smart home and make it more consumer-friendly. Until now, Matter has been a buzzword and nebulous vendor promises, but we're finally starting to see some real movement.
Version 1.0 of the Matter smart home standard and certification program officially launched in October. In the month since its release, 190 hardware and software products have received certification (or are in the process of being verified) according to(Opens in a new window) the Connectivity Standard Alliance (CSA), the nonprofit that oversees the standard. That includes door locks, gateways, lighting, motion blinds, occupancy sensors, smart plugs, weather devices, platform components, and software applications.
"This industry-unifying standard has a promise of reliable, secure connectivity—a seal of approval that devices will work seamlessly together, today, and tomorrow," the CSA says.
Smart home devices are supposed to make your life easier and more convenient, but installing a bunch of disparate internet-connected devices that don't work together might complicate it instead. That's where Matter comes in.
Based on the internet protocol (IP), Matter is designed to help manufacturers more easily build devices that are compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Google Assistant, and other smart home and voice services, the CSA says. The idea is to break down walled gardens in the smart home, and foster interoperability among devices, regardless of brand, so you can seamlessly control them via your platform of choice.
"Matter changes the game—by making devices easier to set up, in the same way, every time, and work with other smart products in the home," the CSA explains. Matter-certified gadgets "can be controlled by whichever app, voice assistant, or device is the most convenient."
Who Is Behind Matter?
Matter was born from a working group called Project Connected Home Over IP (Project Chip), which Amazon, Apple, Google, and other major players in the smart home space launched in collaboration with the Zigbee Alliance at the end of 2019.
In a 2019 blog post(Opens in a new window) announcing the project, Google said the goal of Project Chip was to "build a new standard that enables IP-based communication across smart home devices, mobile apps, and cloud services."
In May 2021, the Zigbee Alliance changed its name to the Connectivity Standards Alliance and rebranded Project Chip to Matter.
By January 2022, more than 200 companies were involved in the development of Matter. At the time, the CSA said "thousands" of engineers at participating companies were creating the specification and certification.
What Is the Status of Matter?
Following the October launch of Matter 1.0, "the transition from standards development to standards adoption" is underway, according to the CSA.
The initial release relies on existing technologies, including Bluetooth Low Energy and numeric/QR codes for device setup, and Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and the Thread(Opens in a new window) networking protocol to connect gadgets. Version 1.0 supports the following smart home product categories: bridges, controllers, door locks, HVAC controls, lighting and electrical, media devices, safety and security sensors, and window coverings and shades.
Support for home appliances, robot vacuums, electric vehicle charging, and energy management devices is expected in the future. The CSA says teams have also formed to explore bringing Matter support to closures for doors and gates, environmental quality sensors and controls, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and ambient motion and presence sensing devices.
Companies involved say it's taken a tremendous amount of effort to get to this point. The first Matter-certified hardware products were originally expected to launch in 2021, but that target was pushed back twice. Explaining the delay in March(Opens in a new window), the CSA said it needed more time to "further improve code quality and stability and accommodate the breadth of Matter devices and platforms."
Prior to the launch of Matter, the Alliance conducted nine test events and a final Specification Validation Event (SVE) with around 40 companies that it says can now proceed with certification applications, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, and Signify (Philips Hue and WiZ). The CSA says there are now eight authorized test labs around the world for companies looking to get their products certified.
Since its release, the Matter software development kit (SDK) has garnered 2,500 downloads via GitHub. The standard promises to help developers more easily bring smart home products to market.
"Matter lets developers build literally, once, and for all," the CSA says. "It’s a common language for today’s smart devices that lets them talk to each other, enabling simple, yet powerful experiences for consumers."
How Amazon, Google, and Apple Are Supporting Matter
Amazon says it will bring Matter support to "well over 100 million devices" across 30 Echo and eero products, including the Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Studio, and Echo Show. This means you'll be able to set up and control Matter devices from Echo smart speakers and displays. But don't get too excited just yet, because the rollout will take several months.
Amazon plans to start delivering Matter over Wi-Fi in December, with support for 17 Echo devices, plugs, switches, and bulbs, but only on Android setups. Broad availability, with support for iOS, Thread, and additional device types is expected "early next year."
"This is an effort unprecedented in scale and complexity and we are excited about making our homes smarter and easier to use," Amazon's Director of Smart Home & Health Marja Koopmans wrote in a blog post(Opens in a new window).
Google in October debuted a new Home app on Android and iOS with Fast Pair for Matter, which promises to simplify the smart home device setup process.
"Setting up a smart light bulb can feel like it requires an engineering degree," Google Home & Nest Product Management Director Anish Kattukaran wrote in a blog post(Opens in a new window). "With Fast Pair for Matter, this will literally become plug and play. Your Android phone will automatically detect a Matter device and help you securely set it up quickly."
The new Home app is only available in Public Preview at this point; to request an invite, open the app, tap Settings > Public Preview > Request Invite. Google says that Matter setup and app linking "will be available by default on billions of Android devices" later this year. The web giant has also promised to update its existing Nest smart speakers, smart displays, and routers to control Matter devices.
That includes Thread-certified Nest devices, such as the Nest Wi-Fi router, the Nest Hub Max, and the second-generation Nest Hub, which will serve as "connection points" for Matter gadgets, Google Smart Home Senior Director Michele Turner wrote in a blog post(Opens in a new window) last year. The Nest Mini and the latest Nest Thermostat will also gain Matter support.
Apple brought Matter support to iPhones as part of iOS 16.1 in late October. To view and manage the Matter accessories currently paired with your iPhone or iPad, navigate to Settings > General > Matter Accessories. Here, you can see all your Matter-compatible devices in one place, regardless of which app you initially used to set them up, as well as factory reset your gadgets, and delete pairings.
Note: you must have at least one Matter accessory paired with your device to see this new menu. In other words, if you already use a bunch of smart home devices, you won't see this menu in the iOS Settings app until they gain Matter support, or you set up a new Matter-compatible gadget.
"If a user sets up smart lights using one app, then sets up a smart lock using another, they’ll be able to see both of those distinct accessories together in the iOS Settings app and have full control of which accessories have joined their home network," Apple says. "When the user opens the smart lock app, they can also be presented with the option to add the lights that were previously set up in a different app, enabling users to connect both accessories together to create powerful scenes and automations so, for example, the lights turn on when you unlock the front door in the evening."
Other Matter-Supported Devices
Most smart home brands have promised support for Matter. The list includes Amazon, Apple, Aqara (Lumi), Arlo Technologies, Belkin Wemo, Comcast, Eve Systems, Ikea, GE Lighting, Google, Infineon, Leedarson, LG Electronics, Mui Lab, Nanoleaf, Nordic Semiconductor, NXP Semiconductors, Philips Hue, Qorvo, Samsung SmartThings, Schlage (Allegion), Sengled, Texas Instruments, Tuya Smart, Universal Electronics, and Veea.
Samsung has also been active in bringing Matter to life. In October, the company launched(Opens in a new window) Matter functionality via its SmartThings hubs and Android app. "Through this update, SmartThings users can control their Matter devices from a single application, instead of using multiple apps from different device manufacturers," Samsung said.
The update comes after Samsung SmartThings in May launched an early access program to start testing products from other brands with its Matter-compatible SmartThings hub and mobile software. In the announcement, Samsung named the following companies as partners: Aeotec, Aqara, Eve Systems, Leedarson, Nanoleaf, Netatmo, Sengled, Wemo, WiZ, and Yale.
Philips Hue this month announced that its Hue Bridge, a smart lighting hub, is Matter certified. The company has promised(Opens in a new window) to make all but two of its new and existing smart lights and accessories compatible with Matter via a software update to the Hue Bridge in the first quarter of 2023. The two exceptions are the Hue Play HDMI sync box and the dial of the Hue Tap Dial Switch, both of which are not supported by the current version of Matter.
Existing Google and Amazon integrations in the Philips Hue app will continue to work as-is, but Apple HomeKit users will need to reset and connect again via Matter, the smart lighting company says.
Philips Hue's parent company Signify said it has "actively participated in demos and periodically tested Matter interoperability of Philips Hue products with smart home partners, ensuring current and future Philips Hue users will have a superior and seamless connected experience."
Yale Home plans to make some of its existing smart door locks backward compatible with Matter. Yale already offers Z-Wave, Zigbee, iM1 (HomeKit), and Wi-Fi Modules(Opens in a new window), which are interchangeable inside compatible locks depending on your desired connectivity platform. Later this year, Yale plans to launch a Matter Smart Module (sold separately for $79.99) to power locks with Matter connectivity. The Matter Smart Module will work with Yale’s original Assure Lock and the Assure Lock 2.
Will Current Smart Home Products Support Matter?
As mentioned above, many existing smart home devices will gain Matter support via software updates—with the caveat that they need to have the right hardware in order to do so.
Matter support will vary by vendor and device, and not all devices will be capable of receiving the update. According to the independent Matter-Smarthome(Opens in a new window) resource, "Among other things, there must be enough flash memory and processing power on the device to perform the update."
There isn't a definitive directory of which existing smart home devices will support Matter, so we can't just give you a simple list of products here. Instead, you'll likely receive an email or other notification from the manufacturer or any products you own if and when a Matter update is available.
One Standard to Connect Them All?
Once upon a time, smart home hubs were meant to be one-stop solutions for unifying your connected gadgets and controlling them from a single app. That didn't quite work out as planned, as competing hubs adopted different connectivity protocols.
Hopefully, Matter will get things right where hubs went wrong, though only time will tell. We review hundreds of smart home devices at PCMag each year, so we'll be putting Matter-certified products to the test as soon as they start arriving on store shelves. We'll update this story once we've had some firsthand experience, so make sure to check back soon.
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After the dot-com explosion in the early 2000s, internet has changed the way people make purchases, read the news, make critical investments or any other transaction. Internet shopping, in particular, has become incredibly popular in the last 10 years and is constantly growing at the rate of almost 20% year-on-year. In 2016-17, it was reported that customers prefer doing 51% of their shopping on the internet. Experts at QuestionPro have recognized the need to cater to purchasing products on the internet and the habits consumers exhibit while shopping on the internet and designed a survey template accordingly.
This sample questionnaire offers questions that provide researchers insights about frequency of online purchases, category of purchases, reason for a particular purchase, will to spend for a specific product and other aspects related to purchasing over the internet.


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In September, our partner KIND brought over 30 team members from across the company, including CEO Russell Stokes, to Wellfare's warehouse to pack Better Boxes filled with nutritious and delicious groceries for those in need.
Over the course of three hours, team members picked and packed over 500 Better Boxes to be delivered to enrolled households across New York City. You can check out the action over at our Instagram here.
“It was amazing to see our KIND team members come together to pack Better Boxes with Wellfare,” said Mohammad Naqvi, Associate Manager of Collaboration and Partnerships at KIND. “This is a natural partnership for KIND, as it aligns with our mission of creating a kinder and healthier world – one act and one snack at a time.”
September's volunteer project is part of our larger partnership with KIND that includes quarterly product donations and an annual monetary donation.


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The new 2020 #NAHAMoment Award is down to five finalists, plus PBA announces its first-ever NAHA Night Out Giveaway.
January 17, 2020 (Scottsdale, AZ) – The Professional Beauty Association (PBA) today announces the finalists for 31st annual North American Hairstyling Awards #NAHAMoment Award, a new award that celebrates the best work of licensed beauty professionals over the past year which were submitted via Instagram. Plus, the PBA announces its first ever NAHA Night Out Giveaway, with details below.
“This exciting new category allowed us to discover tremendous talent and artistry via Instagram, while still upholding the value and honor of what NAHA stands for.”Nina Daily, CMO of the PBA
The #NAHAMoment finalists are featured at probeauty.org/naha and include these esteemed and talented artists:
The hi-res images for all five finalists can be found HERE.
The winner will be announced on stage at NAHA and receive a special #NAHAmoment award on January 25th, 2020. The Live NAHA event kicks off with a red carpet reception from 6-8 pm, followed by the awards ceremony from 8-10:30 pm on January 25, 2020 at the Long Beach Convention Center Terrace Theater in Los Angeles County.
NAHA NIGHT OUT GIVEAWAY
This year, the Professional Beauty Association is offering an EXCITING NAHA sweepstakes that kicks off today. Buy an ISSE ticket from January 17th – 22nd, 2020 to be automatically entered for a chance to win over $500 in prizes, including:
- Two NAHA “Night Out with L’Oréal Pro” styling touch-ups
- Two general admission NAHA tickets
- Two drink tickets at the NAHA red carpet reception
- One night hotel stay
The winner of the giveaway will be announced Jan 24th , 2020 via @probeautyassoc Instagram Story.
Tickets for NAHA are on sale at probeauty.org/naha, with special packages exclusively available to Professional Beauty Association members. The awards ceremony will also stream online at probeauty.org/naha. For more information, please visit probeauty.org/naha; get inspired and learn more about the most prestigious night in beauty.
For media credentials, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org.


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All day on Tuesday, the world’s biggest automakers will roll out their sales results for May.
Economists expect that auto sales rebounded in May to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 17.2 million vehicles after April’s results disappointed.
In April, sales totaled a pace of 16.5 million.
In a note to clients ahead of the report, economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch wrote, “After flat-lining for several months, we expect auto sales to have jumped to a solid 17.2mn saar pace in May.”
The firm added: “With winter doldrums well in the rearview mirror, and with consumers enjoying several months of relatively low gasoline prices, we see an improvement in vehicle demand. 17.2mn is slightly above the highs of this year (registered in March), and if gasoline prices remain subdued and consumer confidence continues to improve, we see further upside to vehicle sales ahead.”
Keep it here, as we’ll be updating this post all day as the results roll in.


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Online marketplace Ebay has launched a new advert satirising Amazon Prime Day’s “parade” of deals starring an “honest Alexa”. Tapping into the rising disillusionment of the Prime Day sales, a…Read More
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26/11/2021 12:05 PM
London’s High Holborn district has become a hub for cashierless supermarkets, with Amazon Fresh unveiling its latest “Just Walk Out” store on November 24, with Tesco’s first checkout-free GetGo store…


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HMD Global has so far released a handful of Android smartphones this year such as Nokia 3310 (2017), Nokia 3, Nokia 5, Nokia 6 and Nokia 8 flagship phone. It appears that the company is prepping on debuting an entry-level phone called Nokia 2. Since the smartphone has already cleared FCC (Federal Communications Commission) certification in the U.S., it is pegged to get official soon. Reliable leakster Evan Blass, has released fresh renders of the Nokia 2 smartphone to reveal its design
Nokia 2 Renders
Nokia 2 pic.twitter.com/IPp6Qvxp8o
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) September 14, 2017
The above image shows the Nokia 2 in Black and Silver/White colors. The renders reveal that the handset does not feature capacitive buttons and it lacks a fingerprint reader which corroborates that it is an entry-level phone.
The Nokia 2 has a simple design and it seems to be wearing a polycarbonate body. The renders suggest that it could be the first Nokia Android phone to come with on-screen navigation buttons. The back panel features a main camera along with its LED flash and an external speaker.
Nokia 2 Specifications
Previous reports have revealed that the Nokia 2 could be arriving with a 5-inch screen that will produce an HD resolution of 720 x 1,280 pixels. The screen is surrounded by thick bezels.
The Snapdragon 210 (or 212) chipset is expected to power the handset. Some markets will reportedly receive the MediaTek chipset version of the phone. The SoC is speculated to be accompanied by 1 GB of RAM.
The Nokia 2 is rumored to arrive in single-SIM and dual-SIM models. Like other Nokia Android phones, it is pegged to come loaded with stock version of Android Nougat OS. An 8-megapixel camera is tipped to be present on the rear side of the phone whereas the frontside is expected to feature 5-megapixel selfie camera. The handset is rumored to arrive with a massive battery of 4,000mAh capacity.
Nokia 2 Launch Date and Price
At the beginning of August, the Nokia 2 was approved by FCC in the U.S. Hence, it was speculated to get unleashed along with the Nokia 8 flagship phone on Aug. 16. However, the Finnish firm did not announce it. The new renders revealed by Blass has 5th October mentioned on the screen of the phone. Hence, there is a possibility that the Nokia 2 may debut on the said date.
The Nokia 3 is the cheapest Android phone from the company that is priced around Rs. 10,000. The entry-level Nokia 2 is speculated to cost lower than Nokia 3.


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The streaming wars continue with huge partnership between Spotify and Samsung
Spotify and Apple Music have been upping their ante within the streaming war. With Apple Music predicted to surpass Spotify’s subscribers by the end of the summer, Spotify has stepped up to the plate and hit a home run. In its most recent major move, the Sweden-based streaming giant has partnered with South Korean-based Samsung.
With this new partnership between the two tech companies, every Samsung phone will be packaged with the Spotify application. Furthermore, Bixby, Samsung’s voice assistant, will work with the application. The setup process will not only include getting your device ready to go but also creating a Spotify account.
The devil is in the details for this new tech partnership
In a blog post on Spotify’s blog, Spotify CEO, Daniel Ek, answered a few questions. When asked why he chose to partner with Samsung, he responded, “Samsung makes devices for every aspect of our lives — everything from smartphones and TVs, tablets, speakers, and watches. And we have designed Spotify to deliver personalized music to consumers around the world — wherever they are, across millions of devices.”
This is Spotify’s jab back at Apple Music after their partnership with Verizon
A few weeks ago, cell phone carrier Verizon partnered with Apple Music. Their Unlimited customers will receive six months of Apple Music free under their partnership. Currently, the streaming service provides users with a three month free trial when they first sign up, which can be paired with the six months that Verizon Unlimited offers. So, you could receive nine months of Apple Music for free. This is the longest trial period duration that’s available for a streaming service. Users and customers who take advantage of this offer will absolutely get a good feel of Apple Music and its impressive catalog.
But will it allow Apple Music to surpass Spotify by the end of the summer?
How many customers will each of these partnerships convert?
Really, though. Does pestering users to signup for a service fare well? Does attempting to get them to setup an account on Spotify, an app that’s not necessary for the device to function, work? This will certainly increase the number of signups the service sees, but will they fork out their credit cards to pay for the service? Both Apple Music and Spotify both offer student discounts, where students at a university can receive a premium subscription for half the price.
Only time will tell if this Samung-Spotify partnership will pay off and continue to grow the service.


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EDB New Ventures launches Corporate Venture Launchpad to help them grow beyond existing core business
EDB New Ventures, the corporate venture building arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), has officially launched its new Corporate Venture Launchpad programme in a virtual media event today.
The Corporate Venture Launchpad aims to support large and established Singapore-based companies in building new ventures in new areas of growth beyond their existing core businesses. Under this programme, eligible companies will work closely with appointed venture studios, to incubate new businesses in an agile and phased approach.
The venture studios that are involved in the programme are BCG Digital Ventures (BCGDV), FutureLabs Ventures (FLV), Leap by McKinsey, and Rainmaking.
Set to run as a one-year pilot, the programme is investing S$10 million (US$7.4 million) to undertake 20 concept validation sprints. Venture studios that are involved in the programme will work together with the companies to incubate business ideas a phased approach within six months.
In a press statement, EDB New Ventures said that it will support up to 50 per cent of the cost of each concept validation sprint. It may also provide further risk-sharing capital and value creation support to high-potential ventures in the programme.
“While companies have the innovation capacity, much of their focus is often on optimising core business operations. Building ventures with an agile and autonomous entrepreneurial team will allow them to effectively search and build new growth areas. Concept validation sprints with the support of venture studios allow companies to take a customer and market-first approach to determine what new business to build and is often the first step in their corporate venturing journey,” said Choo Heng Tong, Executive Vice President, New Ventures and Innovation, EDB.
In the media conference, Choo also stated that The Corporate Venture Launchpad will work on key sectors that EDB has always been responsible for, such as healthcare, aviation, and maritime.
According to CB Insights in The 2020 Global CVC Report, despite the global situation, CVC-backed funding hit a new high in 2020 at a global level.
Despite a two per cent year-on-year decline, Asia continued to lead in CVC investment with 1,360 deals. As a comparison, North America scored 1,275 deal with a three per cent year-on-year decline.
Application for The CV Launchpad programme is now open.
The post EDB New Ventures launches Corporate Venture Launchpad to help them grow beyond existing core business appeared first on e27.
,EDB New Ventures launches Corporate Venture Launchpad to help them grow beyond existing core business | e27
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Masters9000 shared a merged idea: Skyrim & DLC · March 06, 2016 ·. Show description. I really like to play Skyrimon my Xbox one because, it's one of my favorite games and a lot of people would like that.
Will we see The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on Xbox One?
Опубликовано: 12 июн. 2016 г. Skyrim HD is a thing! Skyrim comes to Xbox One and PS4 as Skyrim Special Edition, a remastered version of Skyrim for the new consoles that upgrades the visuals and enables Skyrim mods on consoles.
According to new reports, a remastered version of Skyrim for Xbox One and Playstation 4 will be announced by Bethesda during the E3 2016. Rumors of possible Wolfenstein 2, Prey 2 and The Evil Within 2 announcements during this event are also in the air.
Bethesda is releasing an HD version of the acclaimed and beloved 2011 RPG for new consoles later this year.
Skyrim has been announced by Bethesda, and will be released October 26, 2016. It has long been rumoured and was finally confirmed tonight. The new Skyrim on PS4 and Xbox One will offer new visuals and mod support.
E3 2016: Skyrim Special Edition Officially Headed to PS4, Xbox One, PC This Year. June 12, 2016 - Bethesda has confirmed the previously rumored version of Skyrim for current-gen consoles and PC.
June 12, 2016 Nathanael Peck 0 Comment Bethesda, Pc, Ps4, Skyrim, Xbox One. Bethesda has finally put the rumors to an end regarding one of their most popular titles, Skyrim.
Skyrim Xbox One. E3 2016.
Xbox One. News. Previews.


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Today on Engineering Newswire, brought to you by PD&D TV, we're playing catch with Disney robots, colonizing mars with deep pocketed donors, and beaming aboard a Star Trek classroom. This episode features....
Today on Engineering Newswire, brought to you by PD&D TV, we're propelling bio-bots with rat blood, creating a dancing robot, "Gangnam Style", and blowing up James Bond's Aston Martin. This episode features....
If you think having your phone identify the nearest bus stop is cool, wait until it identifies your mood. New research by a team of engineers at the University of Rochester may soon make that possible. At the IEEE Workshop on Spoken Language Technology on Dec. 5, the researchers will describe
Cyber attacks that have long caused major work disruption and theft of private information are becoming more sophisticated with prolonged attacks perpetrated by organized groups. In September 2012, Bank of America, Citibank, the New York Stock Exchange, and other financial institutions were targets of attacks
Benedict XVI, the pope known for his hefty volumes of theology, is now trying brevity - spreading the faith through his own Twitter account. The pontiff will tweet in eight languages starting Dec. 12 using his personal handle (at)Pontifex, responding live to questions about faith during his weekly general audience, the Vatican said Monday.
Engineers have come to expect that most projects will be delivered late, out of scope and over budget even though to all appearances everyone is working long hours and putting their noses to the grindstone. It’s just become an accepted fact of the industry, and it’s a shame, because it doesn’t have to be that way.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) today announced a new program with the Startup America Partnership, a national network of communities dedicated to advancing the success of American start-ups, for the 2013 International CES. The partnership will bring specific programming for entrepreneurs and start-ups at the 2013 International CES, world’s largest innovation event.
Think Sandy was just a 100-year storm that devastated New York City? Imagine one just as bad, or worse, every three years.Prominent planners and builders say now is the time to think big to shield the city's core: a 5-mile barrier blocking the entryway to New York Harbor, an archipelago of man-made islets
An upcoming U.N. gathering about Internet oversight is raising alarms from a broad coalition of critics, including the U.S., tech giants such as Google and rights groups, concerned that changes could lead to greater efforts to censor Web content and stifle innovation in cyberspace.
Despite a 7% Y/Y dip in global TV shipments, retail sales in North America have been steady, if not exciting, and unit shipments were up almost 3% in Q3’12 after posting small declines in 1H’12. The trend in the US market has been toward bigger and cheaper TVs, in the U.S. market lately, which is expected to be the focus during Black Friday this year.
When I was little, at some point during the Thanksgiving season we would write down things we were thankful for. It was usually at school, written on a turkey that I’d made by outlining my hand, and it was usually things like candy, puppies, family, food, and probably whatever else was in my direct line of sight while I was writing.
It's that special time of year when we all get bloated from eating too much turkey, get into fist fights at Best Buy over that last doorbuster sale, and enjoy Christmas music that started in June. But there is much to be thankful for, and it goes far beyond my propensity for Holiday-induced mayhem.
The tablet computer is without a doubt the gift of the season - just like it was last year. But if you resisted the urge in 2011, now is the time to give in. This season's tablets are better all around. Intense competition has kept prices very low, making tablets incredible values compared to smartphones and PCs.
As India's financial capital shut down for the weekend funeral of a powerful politician linked to waves of mob violence, a woman posted on Facebook that the closures in Mumbai were "due to fear, not due to respect." A friend of hers hit the "like" button.
Back in the dog days of summer, we offered up a list of the 6 must-have apps for a stress-free summer. It was all about keeping kids distracted, watching your spending, and utilizing apps that got you to the relaxation phase faster.Now we’ve entered a season that can feel entirely the opposite of relaxing: holiday season
If you’ve ever felt that heart-in-throat, hyperventilating, out-of-body feeling of not being able to find your kid in a park or after school, only to have her reappear after a few seconds of mind-numbing panic, you can understand why someone would want to invent a Lojack for children.
When Motor Trend announced an electric car was their pick for Car of the Year, something tells me you could have heard a pin drop in the car world. An electric car? They must have rigged the vote.Well, my friends, I hate to break it to you, but Consumer Reports just agreed with Motor Trend,
In the six years since the last major video game system launched, Apple unveiled the iPhone and the iPad, "Angry Birds" invaded smartphones and Facebook reached a billion users. In the process, scores of video game consoles were left to languish in living rooms alongside dusty VCRs and disc players.
The French government is discussing how to tax internet companies such as Google and Amazon both at the national and international levels, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
AVX Corporation has expanded its range of surface mount switch mode power supply (SMPS) capacitors to include the new SMM Series (switch mode max capacitance) stacked MLC capacitors, which incorporate the “High K” Super X7R dielectric. Featuring high dielectric constant (K), the capacitors provide
The battery fuel gauging system is the component responsible for determining the energy remaining in the battery. In this article, a battery fuel gauging system used in single-cell applications is described. This is followed by a discussion of the various algorithms used by the fuel-gauging system to determine battery capacity along with the pros and cons of the algorithms.
Here at ECN, we often talk about alternative energy options. Sometimes it’s solar power, other times wind power, and occasionally we dabble in the world of electric cars. But there is one energy option we’ve been sorely remiss in covering: pee-power.
Military drone technology, which has revolutionized warfare over the last decade, will be ready for civilian use within four years and could create a market worth more than $400 billion.That's the prediction from a UK research project backed by the government and top aerospace companies hoping
Google has started shipping a larger version of its Nexus tablet computer, one that comes closer to competing with Apple's full-size iPad and other tablets. Here's a look at how the Nexus 10 compares with other tablets with similar screens.
A California lawyer is suing Microsoft Corp., claiming the Surface tablet he bought doesn't have all the storage space the company advertised. Andrew Sokolowski, a lawyer in Los Angeles, claims that he bought a Surface with 32 gigabytes of storage last week. But he quickly ran out of space after loading it with music and Microsoft Word documents.