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Wearable market in its prime – three best gadgets you should own right now
The world of wearable technology is expanding. Despite a shaky start and uncertainty surrounding the practical applications of smart devices small enough to fit on your wrist, the market is now experiencing a boom. According to the latest predictions by CCS Insight, the wearable market will be worth a staggering $25 billion by 2019 with sales increasing from 84 million units to 245 million. Everything from fitness trackers and smartwatches to potential innovations in the virtual reality area are driving the market forward.
In fact, it’s not just the potential sales figures that suggest wearable technology is now the hottest tech ticket in town. Various consumer surveys convey the growing popularity of the market. As outlined by a consumer report compiled by Voucherbox, 18-24-year-olds are the most likely purchasers of wearable devices and cost isn’t always an indicator of popularity.
Indeed, despite the Xiaomi Mi Band 2 costing just £28.62 and the company itself selling more than 10 million units, those surveyed by Voucherbox rated the FitBit as the device that most interested them. 37% of tech fans ranked the fitness tracker – which starts at £79.99 – as the top wearable ahead of the Apple Watch (23.4%) and the Samsung Gear (20.9%).
Although cost is certainly an issue for many consumers, the fact it doesn’t appear to be the primary factor influencing someone’s decision to make a purchase suggests other things are at play. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the top three wearables and what makes them leaders in their field.
FitBit: Best for Accuracy
If you’re looking for a wearable that offers the greatest insight into your personal health, then the FitBit is top of the pops. As well as a small on-device display, the smart band allows you to track everything from your daily activities and steps to your sleep patterns and heart rate via an app.
Although other devices allow you to do this, FitBit is the most accurate and, most importantly, the most powerful. A single charge will give you at least five days of action which is far superior to the 24 hours you’ll get with the average smartphone watch.
Apple Watch: Best for Style
Apple has not only carved out a niche as an innovator in the tech world, but a style icon. The Mac, the iPhone and now the Apple Watch are all highly fashionable and that’s one of the reasons the company has become a major player in the industry.
In fact, as an example of Apple’s pull in the fashion world, it now has a partnership with Hermès. The French brand has created a special line of Apple Watch straps to help make the product even more “iconic”.
Samsung Gear: Best for Features
When it comes to features, the Samsung Gear Fit 2 is rated as best both for features and price. Owners need to spend a mere £179.99 to get GPS tracking, heart rate tracking, exercise identification (it knows whether you’re rowing, running or cycling), a large Super AMOLED display and more. Beyond these features, the Samsung Gear Fit 2 is fully customizable and that, beyond all else, is one of the reasons it tops the list when it comes bang for your buck.


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New big cheese boosts Kerry Group
Shares in Coleraine Cheddar owner Kerry Group soared as much as 6% yesterday after the global food and ingredients giant announced strong results for 2016 and confirmed the appointment of a successor to chief executive Stan McCarthy.
While the company's revenue was virtually unchanged on 2015 at €6.1bn (£5bn), it reported business volume growth jumped 3.6%.
Kerry Group owns six facilities in Northern Ireland, including Henry Denny & Sons in Portadown, Golden Cow in Craigavon and Dairy Produce Packers in Coleraine, makers of Coleraine Cheddar.
It made a €750m (£635m) trading profit last year, which was 7.1% higher than in 2015.
The company said the chief executive of its Asia-Pacific operation, Edmond Scanlon, will succeed Mr McCarthy on October 1.
Mr Scanlon joined Kerry Group after graduating from University College Cork in 1996. He has held a number of senior roles at the company.
He said he was "honoured and privileged" to take over the post at the company, which employs more than 24,000 people around the world.
Mr McCarthy said Kerry had delivered record free cash flow of €570m (£482m) in what remains a competitive market.
He told investors that changes in the market are happening at an "accelerating pace" and are driving innovation, with "health and wellness trends pervasive across all sectors".
Kerry generated €4.88bn (£4bn) of its revenue from its taste and nutrition division last year, with the remaining €1.3bn (£1bn) derived from its consumer foods unit.

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Pulse Research has released the results of the just concluded Quarter 4, 2011 Pulse of America readership and consumer shopping survey with almost 6,000 sample from all 50 states.
Even though general classified revenue has not fallen as sharply as real estate, automotive and recruitment over the last ten years, competitors like Craigslist have taken a significant share of private party transient advertising. For the quarterly results ending December 31 2011, the Pulse of America survey offers some very positive news for daily and weekly community newspaper publishers.
Classified ads deliver results: Of those who ran a newspaper classified ad, 76% stated they got results from their ad; 31% sold what they advertised and another 45% stated they got “many calls.”
Classified readership: Newspaper classified ads have high readership. 62% always or frequently read classified ads in the local newspaper.
Classified opportunity: 78% of newspaper readers and newspaper website visitors did not place a classified ad in their local newspaper in the last 12 months.
Real estate classified opportunity: Over 8% of newspaper readers and newspaper website visitors plan to rent a house in the next 12 months with another 5.2% planning on renting a new apartment. The rental market is strong compared to the still soft real estate market for purchasing a residence.
Craigslist is showing some softening: In the last 30 days, 78% of newspaper readers and newspaper website visitors did not respond to a Craigslist ad. In addition, 83% of newspaper readers and newspaper website visitors did not place an ad on Craigslist in the last 30 days.
Housing sector confidence improving: In the last 90 days, since the last Pulse of America survey, homeowner confidence that their home value will remain stable has increased 8%.
For a complete copy of the Pulse of America survey with over 120 readership and consumer shopping questions go to www.pulseresearch.com/results. National and nine US regional area statistics are available. Business can get a copy of current quarter purchasing plans for over 462 business types and thousands of products and services. Quarterly trending is also available.
Pulse of America is an ongoing, quarterly publication readership and consumer shopping survey first launched in early 2008. Over 200 publications, corporate publishing groups and press associations participate in the quarterly Pulse of America survey. Pulse Research, founded in 1985 is the host and sponsor the Pulse of America.
Pulse Research Inc


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Specialty shops like Banana Republic, Talbots, AnnTaylor and Pottery Barn have showcased their wares mainly at enclosed malls like Woodfield and Water Tower Place, but now, they're trying "lifestyle centers" on for size.
Chains try out a different lifestyle
Two of these swanky open-air malls, Wheaton Town Square in Wheaton and Deer Park in Lake Zurich, have opened and filled up, and at least two more, in Orland Park and St. Charles, are in the works.
Lifestyle centers, upscale regional malls that are not under one roof and do not have department store anchors, may give their enclosed mall brethren a run for their money.
"Lifestyle centers represent very strong competition to the regional malls, because in many cases, they're competing for that upscale merchant," says Mark London of Mark London & Associates, a shopping center consultant in Lake Bluff.
These smaller centers give merchants greater visibility than they would have at enclosed malls and allow them to offer a cozier, more convenient shopping experience and avoid the higher maintenance charges typically tacked onto rents at regional malls.
"Lifestyle centers solve a lot of the logistical challenges that malls tend to create, by offering consumers more-direct access to the stores they probably want to get to," says Mr. London.
At Deer Park, base rents are comparable to those at Woodfield, the closest regional mall (10 miles away), but extras are $22 less per square foot, says Terry McEwen, president of the center's developer, Memphis, Tenn.-based Poag & McEwen Lifestyle Centers.
Sales volume at lifestyle centers can be higher, though. Nationwide, the average mall generates $200 per square foot, while the average lifestyle center produces $500 per square foot, says Mr. McEwen.
So far, the 325,000-square-foot Deer Park center is full, with about 80 shops, including J. Crew, Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn. Based on November and December sales, the center is generating about $600 per square foot.
"In the first month (the Deer Park center) opened, five of the stores became the top-volume stores in the chains. One small store did over $1 million (in sales) just in December," says Mr. McEwen, who has the option on property in St. Charles for a similar center.
"One of the national retail chains did a market research study and found that people are shopping two to three times more often at lifestyle centers than malls and spending 50% more money per visit (than at regional malls)," Mr. McEwen says.
In some markets, retailers are jumping ship from malls, particularly if the malls aren't generating the business they seek or don't provide the space for expansion offered by lifestyle centers.
Mr. London says that is occurring in areas where lifestyle centers have a longer track record. In Birmingham, Ala., some mall retailers moved across the street and into a lifestyle center, which is in its third phase of expansion.
"The strength (of lifestyle centers) hasn't truly hit the Chicago area yet," says Mr. London.
Mr. McEwen says strategy is everything. "We're not afraid to be near a regional mall, but on the other hand, we're not looking to go next to regional malls," he says. "It depends on what the regional mall is like. We know what kind of demographics it takes to support our retailers."
One retailer that already has made a switch is Talbots, which closed a free-standing store in downtown Barrington when it opened in Deer Park, and closed its Northbrook Court location when it moved to Renaissance Place, a new development in Highland Park.A Talbots spokeswoman says the Deer Park location allowed the company to expand from a single-line Talbots store to accommodate all three of the company's lines Talbots, Talbots Petite and Talbots Woman. The Highland Park store is roughly the same size as the Northbrook Court facility but offers a new mix of specialty retailers and restaurants, she says.
A competition for upscale retailers may be brewing in Orland Park, where a 170,000-square-foot lifestyle center is slated to break ground this summer, just a mile from the Orland Square mall, which has tried to upgrade its tenant mix since it changed ownership in 1997.
Robert Perlmutter, a partner at Evanston-based Davis Street Land Co., says several retailers that aren't currently at Orland Square including Von Maur department store, Williams-Sonoma, AnnTaylor and Pottery Barn approached him about building a lifestyle center in the area.
"These are retailers that really probably prefer this format, as opposed to being in the mall, for a variety of reasons. One is co-tenancy, and the other is occupancy costs," says Mr. Perlmutter. "We're really going after a niche that's not currently served by the mall."
But Orland Square General Manager Dan Cote says both centers may end up vying for some of the same tenants. "Our job, as well as theirs, is to bring the best possible upscale-quality tenant to the Orland Park area, and that's what we've done since we've been here."
Stores occupying close to half the retail space in 450,000-square-foot Orland Square will be remodeled, relocated or replaced by new, more-upscale stores by the end of the year, says Mr. Cote. In the next two years, Indianapolis-based mall owner Simon Property Group Inc. plans to give the rest of the mall a face-lift, too, he adds.
Some regional mall developers have grafted the lifestyle center approach onto enclosed malls. General Growth Properties combined a regional mall and a lifestyle center in markets like Tucson, Ariz., and Grand Rapids, Mich. The developer has built or remodeled regional malls with what officials call "streetscape retail" to give specialty stores more visibility and easier access.
"If Williams-Sonoma wants to go on the exterior of the center vs. the interior, if we can, we'll try to accommodate that, and we just think it's a great complement to the malls the best of both worlds," says John Bucksbaum, CEO of General Growth.
So far, however, there isn't room to do the same thing at the company's Chicago-area malls Spring Hill Mall and Northbrook Court. Mr. Bucksbaum says the firm might consider a lifestyle center "if it makes economic and retail sense, but so far, we have not been convinced."
Shopping center developers and consultants say that if operators of strong regional malls don't fall asleep at the switch, they can survive the emergence of lifestyle centers. But Tim Blum, senior vice-president of the retail group at HSA Commercial Inc. in Chicago, says, "I think they're going to be forced to be more competitive."
"Malls have to do two things," Mr. Blum adds. "They've got to keep their costs down or attempt to keep them down, and they've got to keep turning their tenant mix over with new and exciting retailers to keep customers interested in coming back."
Otherwise, he says, "they run the risk of losing to more-nimble, entrepreneurial-oriented developers, whether it's in a lifestyle concept or a strip center developer like me. Guys like me are hungry and aggressive, and we notice everything."
©2001 by Crain Communications Inc.


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SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co LLY.N aims to announce roughly one $1 billion to $5 billion deal every quarter in 2020, its chief financial officer told Reuters, as the U.S. drugmaker looks to build up its pipeline of future products.
It will focus largely on earlier stage opportunities across key therapeutic areas including oncology, pain, immunology, and neurology, CFO John Smiley told Reuters in an interview at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference in San Francisco earlier this week.
Eli Lilly has been on a deal-making spree in recent years in a bid to increase products and sales in core franchises as older blockbuster medicines, such as diabetes treatment Humalog, face generic competition and pressure to lower prices.
Last week, it announced a $1.1 billion deal to buy dermatology products maker Dermira Inc DERM.O. With the purchase, Lilly will acquire Dermira's experimental treatment for atopic dermatitis, a serious form of eczema, which is in late-stage testing, as well as an approved medicated cloth to treat excessive armpit sweating.
“We are looking at Dermira-like opportunities targeting assets in the $1 billion to $5 billion range,” Smiley said. “We’d like to be doing something in the range of one per quarter or so.”
In 2018 and 2019, it announced several deals for cancer companies, including an $8 billion acquisition of Loxo Oncology. U.S. regulators in 2018 approved Vitrakvi, Loxo’s first commercial medicine, which treats a wide variety of cancers triggered by a rare genetic mutation.
In a presentation to investors this week, Lilly Chief Executive David Ricks said most of its deals will be in the cancer space, but that other therapeutic areas remain of strong interest as well.
While the company is still looking at late-stage assets, Smiley said the most opportunity for shareholders is in drugs in earlier stages of development.
Deals could include licensing agreements, outright acquisitions, or other structures, he added.
In its most recent earnings call, Lilly forecast a higher-than-expected profit for 2020, citing growing demand for its newer medicines including diabetes drug Trulicity and Taltz for psoriasis and other related autoimmune diseases.
However, sales of Trulicity and other newer medicines have been crimped by high rebates and discounts drugmakers pay to middlemen, such as pharmacy benefit managers, in order to make sure patients have access to their products.
Reporting by Carl O’Donnell; Additional reporting by Rebecca Spalding and Robin Respaut; Editing by Bill Berkrot
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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New York City-based BurnLounge is a company to keep an eye on. The company has raised $13 million from entertainment industry investors including Justin Timberlake. It turns music fans into promoters and sellers by charging for access to its catalog of music and web storefront tools.
The idea is to “take the street team into the twenty-first century,” says Stephen Murray, BurnLounge co-founder, president of entertainment, and chief creative officer. The three-and-a-half-year-old company launched in June after being in beta for eight months.
It generated $1 million in sales in its first month. Fans now operate 40,000
50,000 online retail shops, and the company claims it’s the fifth-largest music download site.
Murray admits that music generates very low margins — sellers earn 5 cents per song sold or 50 cents per album. The company gives doles out more money for selling BurnLounge stores (and soon merchandise), with an affiliate system set up that requires prospective store operators to sign up through a current store operator. Skeptics compare it to a pyramid scheme.
BurnLounge’s setup fees aren’t negligible; $29.95 per year for the basic store, and up to $429.95 per year plus $8 per month if you want VIP concert passes and such. Other complaints: the site makes frustrating use of Flash and only works properly in Windows. Downloads are WMA files, meaning they won’t play on iPods.
Playing to people’s cool kid aspirations on a slightly janky site? That sounds familiar. Party promotions also helped drive MySpace to the top…maybe BurnLounge will catch the eye of one of the hungry media moguls. BurnLounge may not be a social network, but that doesn’t seem to be terribly profitable anyways. MySpace itself just entered the customizable online music franchise business over the weekend.
The company is facing competition from startups and other large players Other companies that help fans to set up music shops include MySpace partner Snocap, Navio, and Musicane. BurnLounge claims that it is not taking customers from iTunes, or even P2P networks.
The company says the vast majority of its retailers and customers have never previously downloaded a single song from the internet. And these new buyers seem to be more partial toward full albums than those of the a la carte generation, with 80 percent of transactions involving at least one album. That’ll make the musicians happy.
And unlike the new MySpace music shops, this is not an indie play. Though BurnLounge adds 350 albums per week of unsigned music, according to Murray, its biggest sellers are far and away pop albums from the major labels.
(Surprisingly, “SexyBack” was nowhere to be found…did Justin give the exclusive to iTunes?) Occasionally heavy promotion brings a smaller artist to the top, for instance Coffey, a poppy Texan singer who likes to pose with the confederate flag.
Update: BurnLounge says its number of registered retailers is 40,000, not 50,000 as it had previously indicated.


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Back in September, image consultant and all-round fabulous person, Ezinne Chinkata, opened her fashion boutique, and we went to pay a visit. Now, she has released it’s debut lookbook and it’s the perfect selection of chic fashion pieces that range from glam to simple.
Fronting the lookbook are Miss Tourism Nigeria 2013, Eniola Powede Lawrence, and Uju Nwobodoh. The lookbook is divided into two parts – A Christmas Edit for anyone looking to get festive this season and a Work to Fun edit which highlights great outfits that cross from day to night.
Miskay boutique, a Nigerian retailer that boasts of the very best in UK high street brands and trends, has released their Party Season Collection. It’s a great collection of dresses and outfits to get you ready for the December turn up period.
All Accessories2Die4 stores will be having a HUGE November sale. From the 27th – 3oth of November, all items at A2D4 stores will be having a half price sales and some selected items will be going as low as NGN300!
I think now is the time to start shopping for the holidays. Get shopping guys!
Accessories2Die4 has stores in AOSMall Surulere, Leisure Mall Surulere, Ikeja City Mall, MM2, Sleek Studio in Vi and Port Harcourt Mall.
South African fast-fashion retailer, MRP, has released their new designer collection, done in collaboration with Tanzanian designer, Anisa Mpugwe. The designer created a range celebrating Nigeria with striking prints, bold colours and feminine silhouettes. With pieces starting at NGN1900, it’s an affordable way to add some great designer looks to your wardrobe! Click here to shop the full range now.
I have been natural for some time now (4 years actually) and my hair has refused to grow. Maybe it’s because I dye it every few months and I don’t sleep with a satin cap and I don’t live and breathe shea butter. I’m one of those carefree natural girls that don’t read labels and I just live.
Italian designer, Giambattista Valli has teamed up with makeup giant MAC Cosmetics on a five color lipstick collection ranging from bright coral to dark berry. I’m especially eying the red one, it looks like it’s going to be fantastic. Alas, I don’t know if the collection is going to come to the Nigerian MAC store.
The collaboration is set to hit stores in summer 2015.
The ITC Ethical Fashion Initiative pleased to announce the launch of their latest video celebrating our partnership with Stella McCartney. Stella McCartney and the Ethical Fashion Initiative partnership began in Kenya in 2011 and since then, Stella McCartney has produced beautiful handmade accessories with Kenyan artisans specialised in screen-printing and tailoring. Continue on for the video!


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Salinas Supplier Recalls Lettuce Over E. Coli FearsA northern California produce supplier is voluntarily recalling romaine lettuce that was shipped to 19 states, Puerto Rico and Canada over fears of possible E. coli contamination.
Calif. Recalls Romaine Lettuce Over E.Coli ConcernsSome brands of bagged romaine lettuce salads are being recalled due to contamination with a strain of E. coli, according to state health department officials.
NorCal Farm Issues Lettuce Recall Over Listeria ContaminationA Northern California farm that issued a voluntary lettuce recall over listeria contamination concerns said its notice has gone out to 19 states and Canada.
Salinas Farm Recalls Chopped Romaine Lettuce Over Listeria ConcernsA Monterey County farm said Thursday it was voluntarily recalling bags of chopped romaine lettuce because of possible contamination with listeria, though no illnesses have been reported.


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Like-for-like sales fell 2.2% in April from a year earlier, with the early Easter hitting food sales in particular, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said.
But the BRC said that masked a "respectable" month as spring sunshine midway through April boosted sales of sandals, skirts, shorts and skin care products.
On a rolling three-month basis, which smooths out the timing of Easter, underlying sales between February and April were up 0.9% on a year earlier.
BRC director general Helen Dickinson said: "On the surface these are really poor figures, but they're hiding another respectable month.
"The fact that the boost from Easter didn't fall in April this year hit food sales in particular. But, taking away the Easter distortion, this was actually a better month than March, especially for non-food sales.
"Essentially, so far this year, sales growth is a small and tentative step up on where it was in 2012, but when it will take the next step is not clear."
The last time monthly sales fell at a faster pace was in April 2012, when they slid 3.3% during a rain-soaked month.
Retail sales grew an "encouraging" 1.9% in March, but food sales slumped in April as shoppers cut back after indulging at Easter, making it the second-worst performing category.
The BRC said the weather "blew hot and cold" for footwear, with women's slippers the most popular seller. But while the prolonged deep freeze held back fashion sales at the start of the month, the arrival of warmer weather gave a long-awaited boost to clothing retailers' spring sales.


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Axalta Congratulates Fleurieu Crash Repairs the Winner of the 2018 Sustainability Award
Axalta Coatings Systems is passionate about supporting the sustainable business practices of our industry, which is why we are staunch advocates and sponsors of the 2018 Axalta Sustainability Award. This award allows us to celebrate the best of the best in the industry, recognising hard work, innovation and strong sustainable business practices that are key steps to future proof our industry and this year’s winner, Fleurieu Crash Repairs, exemplifies this commitment.
We congratulate Fleurieu Crash Repairs from Victor Harbour, South Australia, whose entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to excellence has played a pivotal role in the growth of their business and our industry. An industry that continues to face increasing challenges. This award celebrates Fleurieu’s remarkable results achieved through the pursuit of consistent improvement and investment in capital and more importantly, people.
The workforce behind Fleurieu, whose incredible contribution towards the success of their company, we celebrate today. Their ambition, focus and competitive resolve drives Fleurieu to improve the way they approach their business, continuously finding better ways to create value for their customers, whilst future proofing their business and our industry. The Sustainability Award acknowledges Fleuireu’s accomplishments, where productivity, a strong mentor and apprenticeship programme and environmentally focused business model have become the backbone of their company and what makes it thrive in these uncertain times.


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Singapore — Qingdao Haiwan Chemical is expected to start commercial production at its new 500,000 mt/year styrene monomer plant in China's eastern Shandong province in December, market sources with knowledge of the matter said Friday.
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"All facilities at the new plant have now been completed, and the company is expecting commercial output in December," a source said.
Commercial startup had already been delayed once this year, as the plant was originally scheduled to start production by early July, the sources said.
The start-up was first delayed to September due to environmental compliance reasons, and was then further delayed to the end of the year, they added.
Qingdao Haiwan also operates a 300,000/year caustic soda plant, a 400,000/year vinyl chloride monomer plant, and a 300,000/year polyvinyl chloride plant at the same site.
Qingdao Haiwan has also announced plans to build a 200,000/year downstream polystyrene plant at the same site. The plant will be producing both general purpose and high impact polystyrene, according to the company.
--Frank Zeng, firstname.lastname@example.org
--Edited by Geetha Narayanasamy, email@example.com


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The Association of Thai Travel Agents has welcomed the early return of Chinese tour groups, which it believes will help the country reach pre-Covid tourist arrival levels by next year.
Wichit Prakobkosol, an adviser to ATTA, explains that the demand from Chinese tourists is bouncing back more rapidly than expected, as many of Thailand’s “competitors” are not on the list of 20 nations that China is allowing its citizens to travel to. Currently excluded from the list are Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam, so most Chinese tour groups opt for Thailand.
However, Wichit says the lack of sufficient flights is still hindering the return of Chinese tourists, as the number of flights from China to Thailand is only at 10% of pre-Covid levels and operated mostly by Chinese carriers. The number of flights is expected to increase by 20% next month and rise to 40-50% of pre-Covid levels in the second quarter of 2023.
Meanwhile an unnamed source at a large tour agency in Thailand says Covid-19 has reset the Chinese tour agency business. Prior to the pandemic, he says tour agencies in China offered “zero-dollar” packages, where the Chinese agents gave little or nothing to their Thai counterparts.
These “zero-dollar” tour operators ran their businesses at a loss, but opened shops in Thailand and sent Chinese tourists to buy goods at the shops to recoup the losses. They would subsidise the travel and accommodation, all pre-paid in China, and then recoup the costs with commissions and expensive tours whilst their guests are in Thailand.
However, due to high operational costs during the pandemic, the “zero-dollar” packages are no longer sustainable.
The governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Yuthasak Supasorn, highlights the significant role Chinese tourists play in the country’s economic recovery. He says that from January 1 to February 2, 99,429 Chinese tourists visited Thailand, and the number is expected to reach 300,000 by the end of March. The TAT has revised its initial prediction of 5 million Chinese tourists this year to 7 or 8 million, with tourism expected to generate between 1.25 trillion to 2.38 trillion-baht revenue for the country.
In related news, Yol Phokasub, chairman of the Thai Retailers Association and CEO of Central Retail Corporation, suggests the government test a tax-free zone for foreign tourists in a sandbox format, which could be carried out in Phuket to encourage foreign tourists to spend more in the country.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand


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Britain-based brewer SABMiller will sell its $US1.09 billion ($A1.18 billion) stake in South African leisure division Tsogo Sun, it says.
SABMiller, which is listed in London and Johannesburg, said in a statement on Monday that after a strategic review it will dispose of its 39.6-per cent stake in Tsogo Sun via a share placing and buyback.
The firm added it will sell up to 305 million ordinary shares in a secondary placing and has signed an agreement for Tsogo Sun to buy back 130 million ordinary shares for $260 million.
"The business has performed well over the years," said SABMiller chief executive Alan Clark.
"However, gaming and hotels are not core to our operations and we have concluded that the time is right for us to exit our investment through a transaction which is beneficial to shareholders of both SABMiller and Tsogo Sun and to reinvest the proceeds in our core growth businesses, including our African operations."
Tsogo Sun, which is also listed in Johannesburg, has 92 hotels and 14 gaming and entertainment venues in six of South Africa's nine provinces, as well as theatres, cinemas, restaurants, bars and conference facilities.


text: Wednesday 07 July 2021 8:29 am Life after Amazon: What’s next for Jeff Bezos? By: Michiel Willems Its downbeat forecast reflected changing consumer habits, with more shoppers returning to brick-and-mortar stores as lockdown eased and new hybrid purchasing models like click-and-collect taking hold. Jeff Bezos has stepped down as Amazon’s chief executive, 27 years after founding the company. Now, he’s moving on to the next phase in his life and it includes space travel. Watch the full report.


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New Tecno smartphone seems to have just passed the Google Play Console certification. The smartphone is called Tecno R7+ and is expected to be the cheapest Tecno smartphone.
The Tecno R7+ has the model number ‘TECNO-RC6‘ and it runs on Android 10 OS. It seems to have a small display with a resolution of 480 x 854 and a screen density of 240 PPI.
It is powered by the MediaTek MT6739WA processor which is expected to be a super-budget chipset. The variant we see here has just 1GB of RAM. Other than this, there is nothing else to learn but at a glance at its specs, we can assume that it will be an Android Go smartphone. Still, it is not confirmed but once it arrives the pricing should be under $100.
Stay Tuned For More Updates On Tech News, Leaks, Rumors, and Deals. Also, Check Out the Official Giztop Shop.


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Up to a point, I do get some of the naval gazing taking place at the present time, where input costs are concerned but let’s talk about food inflation.
Surely the real game afoot is that of trying to gauge where farmgate prices will be for milk, beef and lamb six months down the track.
And here comes the good news for Irish agriculture. Food inflation is running at 5% within the UK at the present time. And there is every prospect of this trend being maintained well into the future.
Inflation is a word that hasn’t been used in common parlance for decades. The supermarkets have tried their best to keep this factor out of their pricing strategies for many years, irrespective of the costs being incurred by primary producers.
But it’s only possible to keep the tide back for so long.
What is food inflation?
Inflation means that prices in the shops go up, with the result that retailers must reflect these developments back along the supply chain.
The other encouraging dimension to this story is the trend that consumers now realise that they must pay more for their food. A number of recent surveys carried out in the UK have confirmed this reality.
So let’s say, for argument’s sake, that an inflationary contribution equivalent to 5% of the market price is reflected back along the beef chain for the foreseeable future.
By my calculations, it wouldn’t take that long before Irish finished cattle prices reach €6.00/kg and, possibly more. This is assuming that we are starting from a baseline point of €4.50/kg.
Think I’m wrong? Time will tell.
Future for cheap food
One thing I do know is that the days of cheap food are over. In this (hopefully) post-Covid-19, post-Brexit world, all bets are off in terms of where the world’s commodity markets will end up.
Set against these trends is the need to treat farmers and production agriculture with respect.
So, if fertiliser, feed and fuel prices start to take off, as they are doing at the moment, it is only fair that the price reflected back to the farmer takes account of this reality.
Food used to be treated as a basic commodity. Thankfully, consumers are now seeing it as a vital component of their lives, one that must be valued on a similar basis.
50 years ago, consumers spent the majority of their salaries on food. We may not reach those ‘heady heights’ again.
But the trajectory in terms of consumers committing more of their hard earned money in the direction of food procurement is, very much, going in the right direction.
So does food inflation tick lots of boxes for Irish agriculture? It certainly does in my view.


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E3 2015 is upon us, and this year is looking to be the biggest one in some time, with Bethesda and Square Enix hosting their own dedicated conferences in addition to the yearly standbys. PC Gamer will also be hosting a two-hour PC-centric show – the first of its kind at E3.
What hot new games will Bethesda and Square bring to the table? Will Sony and Microsoft spill the beans on a bunch of hot new exclusives for their newest systems? Will Nintendo come from behind like last year and steal the show without even having a live conference? We’ll just have to find out in a few weeks when E3 2015 comes to the Los Angeles Convention Center June 16-18!
If you want to keep up with all the latest news from the show, this page is your destination for all things E3 at 4P! You’ll find a handy guide to all the press conferences, quick links to all of our E3 coverage, a constantly-updated list of the news from the show, and much more, right here on this page.
And while you’re at it, why not stop by our newly upgraded forums? We’re always glad to see new faces! Join in the discussions in our dedicated E3 2015 forum and chat about all the news from the show.
Watch the conferences
YouTube will be hosting their own E3 extravaganza this year, including streams of all the conferences and live shows throughout the week. Click here to go to the YouTube show!
Sunday, June 14, 7:00pm PDT (6:30pm pre-show)
For the first time in history, Bethesda will be holding a press conference of their own. A new Doom game has been teased in a trailer for E3, and of course the company just revealed a new entry in an obscure, little-known RPG series entitled Fallout 4.Click here to see the highlights from the conference.
- First public Doom gameplay shown, content creation detailed.
- Worldwide beta coming for Battlecry.
- Dishonored 2 announced, first game coming to PS4 and Xbox One as Dishonored: Definitive Edition
- The Elder Scrolls: Legend, a Hearthstone-like card game based on The Elder Scrolls, announced and coming later this year on PC and iPad.
- A ton of Fallout 4 info revealed, and the game comes out on November 11.
- Fallout Shelter, a F2P mobile game, announced.
Monday, June 15, 9:30am PDT
Microsoft is touting a 90-minute conference bursting at the seams with games, games, and more games. Halo 5: Guardians is sure to be a big part of their show, and Rise of the Tomb Raider is also sure to make an appearance along with some of the other games they announced last year such as Crackdown. Popcap has also confirmed that Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 will be officially revealed at Microsoft’s conference. Beyond that? HoloLens? New Xbox One SKU? We’ll just have to wait and see.Click here to see the highlights from the conference.
- Halo 5: Guardians gameplay demo shown along with a preview of the new multiplayer mode, Warzone.
- New game from Inafune and Armature Studio entitled Recore announced.
- Xbox 360 backward compatibility coming to Xbox One – available to preview members now.
- Xbox One Elite controller announced, with swappable buttons, trigger locks, sensitivity customization, and more.
- Fallout 4 mods will work on Xbox One. Fallout 3 will be included with the game as well.
- Titanfall is being added to EA Access. Dragon Age Inquisition will be added later this year.
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 trailer officially revealed, coming next spring.
- Forza 6 features Ford GT, comes out September 15.
- Dark Souls III announced for early 2016.
- Tom Clancy’s The Division gets an exclusive beta on Xbox One. Rainbow Six Siege will include Vegas and Vegas 2 for free on Xbox One.
- Gigantic, a new class-based F2P game, will be coming to Windows 10 and Xbox One exclusively. Beta starts in August.
- Spotlight on four different indie games: Tacoma, Ashen, Beyond Eyes, and Cuphead.
- Early access gaming is coming to Xbox One in the form of the Xbox Game Preview program.
- World gameplay premiere of Rise of the Tomb Raider; coming November 10.
- Rare Replay, a collection of 30 classic Rare games, will be available August 4 for $30.
- Rare’s new game is Sea of Thieves, an online pirate adventure game.
- Microsoft will be partnering with both Valve VR and Oculus.
- HoloLens demoed, with an exclusive version of Minecraft.
- Gears of War: Ultimate Edition is coming August 25.
- Gears of War 4 demoed, coming holiday 2016.
Monday, June 15, 1:00pm PDT
EA’s conference last year was incredibly lackluster, filled with conceptual footage, sports, and little else. Will they make those concepts reality this year? Mirror’s Edge and Mass Effect would be great to see at this conference, but the star of the show will most definitely be Battlefront.Click here to see the highlights from the conference.
- Mass Effect: Andromeda debut trailer – coming out holiday 2016.
- The new Need for Speed is coming November 3, incorporating the best of previous entries of the series into an open world twice the size of the one in Rivals.
- A new The Old Republic expansion, Knights of the Fallen Empire, will release October 25 and will be free for all subscribers.
- The Coldwood’s new game, Unravel, is a puzzle platformer featuring a yarn character who constantly unravels. The yarn represents love, apparently.
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 features the plants on the offense for the first time. There will be several new classes as well as a new Graveyard Ops mode, and all content will transfer from the first game.
- The normal new sports games were shown off. Hockey, golf, basketball, etc. Lots of “innovation” being thrown around.
- A new Star Wars CCG, Galaxy of Heroes, is coming to mobile this year.
- Minions Paradise announced for mobile, demoed.
- Pelé talked about the beauty of soccer as a very long introduction to FIFA 16, which is also apparently “innovative.”
- Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst is a truly open world game that tells Faith’s origin story. Releases February 23, 2016.
- Madden 16 out in August.
- Star Wars: Battlefront Walker Assault mode demoed, based on Battle of Hoth. Releases November 17.
Monday, June 15, 3:00pm PDT
Ubisoft will of course be showing off its yearly Assassin’s Creed entry, Syndicate, and we’ll surely see The Division for the third year in a row, as well as Rainbow Six: Siege. Beyond that though, it’s all a mystery, and Ubisoft has a habit of closing their conferences with a big surprise reveal.Click here to see the highlights from the conference.
- South Park: The Fractured But Whole revealed.
- For Honor revealed and given a live multiplayer demo.
- The Crew: Wild Run expansion pack coming November 17.
- Trials Fusion: Awesome Level Max features a cat riding a flame-breathing unicorn and comes out July 14.
- The Division is getting a beta in early 2016 and releases March 8.
- Anno 2205 releasing on November 3.
- Just Dance 2016 features the ability to use your phone as a controller if you do not own a camera for your console. A streaming service is coming as well.
- Rainbow Six: Siege trailer and live demo of Terrohunt was shown. The beta starts September 24 on all platforms.
- Trackmania Turbo brings the series to consoles.
- A new trailer for Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate shown.
- Ghost Recon: Wildlands announced as the first open-world entry in the series.
Monday, June 15, 6:00pm PDT
Sony is riding high this generation, but with a dearth of first-party offerings for 2015, the company is counting on third-party partnerships to carry them through the rest of the year. Battlefront is the most likely contender to lead the charge of third-party exclusivity deals. We’ll also certainly hear more about Uncharted – both the remaster collection and Uncharted 4, and Sony’s upcoming virtual reality headset Morpheus.Click here to see the highlights from the conference.
- The Last Guardian is alive! A demo kicked off the conference, and it’s coming out in 2016.
- Horizon: Zero Dawn from Guerilla Games officially unveiled.
- Hitman coming as a digital release for consoles and PC. Exclusive beta on PS4 with pre-order.
- New footage shown for Street Fighter V. Official beta begins July 23 only on PS4.
- No Man’s Sky has an incredibly vast universe, with countless planets to explore as you try to reach the center of the universe.
- Media Molecule’s new game, Dreams, was shown; it allows you to sketch and animate scenes.
- Firewatch trailer shown.
- Destiny: The Taken King is releasing September 15. New gear, multiplayer map, strike, and more will be exclusive to PlayStation.
- Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate features Dreadful Crime missions exclusively on PS4. Select either Jason or Evie Frye to play.
- World of Final Fantasy releasing exclusively on PS4 and Vita in 2016.
- Another megaton! Final Fantasy VII Remake is coming first to PS4.
- Shenmue III Kickstarter is now up.
- Scarecrow Nightmare Missions will be exclusive to PS4 in Batman: Arkham Knight.
- PlayStation Vue allows users to subscribe to individual TV channels; launches tonight in Los Angeles and San Francisco with an exclusive Machinima channel.
- Call of Duty is now partnering with Sony for early DLC, beginning with Black Ops III.
- PS4 gets an exclusive Disney Infinity 3.0 starter pack featuring Star Wars, as well as early access to the Star Wars campaigns in the game.
- Another gameplay demo of Battlefront, with two player splitscreen co-op.
- Uncharted 4 showed off its first gameplay footage in a live demo, despite some technical difficulties.
Nintendo Digital Event
Tuesday, June 16, 9:00am PDT
Nintendo is continuing its tradition of doing a pre-recorded Digital Event instead of a press conference this year. With Zelda already confirmed to not make an appearance, expect news on more Smash and Splatoon content along with more details on Star Fox, Mario Maker, and Yoshi’s Woolly World. Hopefully we’ll have some big surprises and 3DS love as well.Click here to see the highlights from the conference.
- Star Fox Zero features a transforming Arwing, is being developed by Platinum Games, and will release holiday 2015.
- Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser figures to be included in Skylanders Superchargers; can be used as Skylanders or Amiibo.
- An online multiplayer co-op Zelda game titled Triforce of Heroes is coming to 3DS this fall.
- Hyrule Warriors Legends, a 3DS reimagining of the Wii U game, will be coming Q1 2016 with exclusive levels from The Wind Waker.
- Metroid Prime: Federation Force, a multiplayer co-op game, and Metroid Prime: Blast Ball, a soccer-like sports game, will be coming to 3DS in 2016.
- Fire Emblem Fates will be coming to 3DS in 2016, and Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem will be doing the same with Wii U.
- Xenoblade Chronicles X will be released in North America on December 4, 2015.
- Two Animal Crossing titles: Happy Home Designer will be coming to 3DS on September 25, and Amiibo Festival, an Amiibo-centric board game, will be coming to Wii U this holiday.
- Yoshi’s Woolly World will be released October 16 and will feature unlockable patterns with Amiibo.
- Level-5’s Yokai Watch will be coming to 3DS this holiday.
- Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam will be coming spring 2016 to 3DS; combination of Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario.
- Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash is coming to Wii U holiday 2015.
- Costume Mario is a new powerup in Super Mario Maker, which is coming September 11. Costume Mario can change his appearance based on what Amiibo has been scanned into the game.
Tuesday, June 16, 10:00am PDT
Square is jumping into the press conference ring this year, with new Deus Ex and Just Cause games headlining their upcoming lineup.They are also teasing a big “mystery title” for their E3 show. Those hoping for more Final Fantasy XIII news will be disappointed, however, as the game has been confirmed to be absent from E3 in favor of an info dump at Gamescom. Maybe Kingdom Hearts 3 will show up, though? (Don’t hold your breath.)
PC Gaming Show
Tuesday, June 16, 6:00pm PDT
PC Gamer will be presenting the first annual PC Gaming Show, a two hour event hosted by Sean “Day” Plott. Featured participants include AMD, Blizzard, Cliff Bleszinski, Phil Spencer, Paradox Interactive, and many others.


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Stuck on Goat Simulator? We've got you covered!
Don't panic! Our cheats will see you through.
The crazy goat game actually came out for mobile platforms.
How everyone’s favourite videos have created a new sub-genre of games, and how it could impact development.
Every member of the VideoGamer.com team predicts what will happen at this year's E3.
Also a brand new map, roughly the size of the original.
Free update includes a new map, local split-screen, parkour, bike riding and much more.
Goatness gracious: Coffee Stain teams up with Koch for physical release next month.
Running on walls, standing on the goat's front legs and more is shown off in teaser video.


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May 22, 2018
Woolmark to celebrate Wool Week from May 24
May 22, 2018
Woolgrowers, fashion designers, retailers and consumers will unite to celebrate The Woolmark Company’s Wool Week Australia beginning May 24 to June 3.
Westfield will also join the campaign as a major partner, releasing its wool-focused winter campaign in time for Wool Week at 39 centres across Australia and New Zealand celebrating the growers who produce the fibre and the designers who use it.
Nine Westfield centres across Australia and New Zealand will host events and activations including extreme knitting workshops, visual merchandise displays showcasing retailer wool product, interior design workshops, and fashion exhibitions. Westfield Sydney will host artist, Natalie Miller, who’ll create a live knitting installation, whilst Westfield Doncaster will showcase a collection of International Woolmark Prize garments, in a celebration of the world’s best emerging fashion designers, a Woolmark press release said.
"The Woolmark Company’s Wool Week is an annual celebration which puts wool at the forefront of shoppers’ minds," said Australian Wool Innovation CEO Stuart McCullough. “Thanks to the support of leading brands and retailers, along with educational activities, Wool Week aims to reconnect consumers with the versatility and natural benefits of Australian wool and encourages conscious purchasing decisions."
Copyright © 2023 Fibre2Fashion. All rights reserved.


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Following Google’s woes in the United States, South Korea is reportedly drafting a law targeting the duopoly of Google and Apple app stores. The law drafted and to be processed from July 23 prohibits operators of the application market such as Google or Apple from:
- Force a developer-specific payment method
- Prevent the developer from registering the app in other app marketplaces
- Delay the registration of the app in the app market
- Unfairly removing content from the app market
The law (as reported by joined), is being written to tackle both Apple and Google in their current state. Right now, app developers who want to launch an app are at the behest of either company with no alternatives, even when fees increase or a hostile practice is introduced. users. As regulators begin to catch up with big tech companies, control is being relinquished by companies like Apple and Google when it comes to their app markets. As regulators argue, any app that isn’t allowed into either store will have a much harder time to succeed, showing the power both companies wield in their respective operating systems.
A bill submitted to North Dakota earlier this year (which was defeated) proposed very similar legislation. The bill was under pressure from the nonprofit Coalition for App Fairness, and attention has now shifted to other states such as Arizona, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Wisconsin who are considering similar legislation. The Coalition for App Fairness nonprofit is a group of companies primarily opposed to the duopoly of Apple and Google. If South Korean legislation is passed, we may see a change in the way apps are distributed on smartphones in the future. It would be the first such bill to be passed into the laws of a country, if it were drafted and accepted.
“The policy of Google and Apple to enforce payment through the app is a representative unfair act that threatens fair competition in the digital economy,” the Korea Startup Forum (via Google Translate) said. “We welcome a bill that addresses a major threat to the future of domestic startups and the content industry.”


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Kylie Jenner received her biggest setback this year after Forbes released an explosive story about her net worth and how she lied to earn the title of Youngest Self-Made Billionaire. Since then, it has been a downward spiral for her company Kylie Cosmetics, which was recently acquired by Coty for $600 million.
Ever since the lip kit mogul gave up the title of CEO, Coty announced her new successor, Christoph Honnefelder, who took over the role earlier this year. But just six months in, he decided to quit due to ‘personal reasons’, as quoted by the company.
While the real reason behind Honnefelder is still unclear, the news raised questions about the future of Kylie’s business. Coty released a statement after the former CEO’s resignation that his position will be given to the President of Luxury Brands, Simona Cattaneo.
Coty added that the company is very excited to have her on board and hopes the best for the expansion of the business, especially after the recent launch of Kylie Skin in Europe.
Honnefelder’s resignation followed the explosive article published by Forbes which accused Kylie and her mom of falsifying earnings and tax returns to inflate the value of her company.
The young entrepreneur fired back with a tweet claiming that Forbes’ accusations were merely inaccurate assumptions. She also reminded her fans that there were more important issues to focus on (the current pandemic) rather than fixating on her net worth.
The young millionaire also stressed that she never asked Forbes to give her a special title based on how much money she had so that gave her little to no reason to lie about her income.
This claim was regarding Forbes’ 2019 article which hailed Kylie as the youngest self-made billionaire. It was definitely a controversial claim at the time, with many people questioning the ‘self-made’ part of the title. After all, the reality star was born and raised in a celebrity family and it was her momager Kris Jenner, who helped her launch Kylie Cosmetics.
The reality of Kylie Cosmetics’ revenues came to light after the makeup mogul sold off 51 percent of the business to Coty, a publically traded company that recently revealed Kylie Cosmetics’ sales figures to be much lower than what the family had disclosed to Forbes.


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The Association of Kenya Insures says the more expensive a car is, the less likely it is to be stolen. Finding a buyer for high-performance vehicles might take long, increasing the likelihood of recovery. More so, there is a ready market for the spare parts of the cheaper models. It also found out that the most stolen cars in Kenya are Toyotas.
“Seventy one percent of vehicles reported stolen in the country are Toyotas followed by Isuzu (seven per cent) and Nissan (five per cent). The rest constitute 17 per cent cumulatively,” says AKI. Mitsubishi and Mercedes Benz complete the top five of the most stolen cars.
Volvo, Honda, BMW, Ford, and Hyundai are less likely to be stolen.
The most stolen cars in Kenya are white in colour. This is because they are so many white cars in the country. Thus, it is easy for the stolen car to blend in. 50 per cent the stolen cars were white, followed by silver which stood at 21 per cent. The other car colours which are auto thieves’ favourites are black, blue and grey vehicles, in that order.
The vehicles that are least likely to be stolen are that are colour green, red, gold, pearl, purple, orange and maroon.
“White Toyotas are attractive to thieves because even if you tell the police you have lost your white Toyota, how many of them are on the road?” posed AKI’s Tom Gichuhi.
Cars that cost less than Ksh 1 million are more likely to be stolen as opposed to cars that are over Ksh 1 million. Cars whose engine capacities sat above 2000cc and those that originated from Europe or the US were also found to be less likely to be stolen. Kenya is flooded with the relatively cheap Japanese cars, and those are the most targeted.
Station wagons, saloon cars, lorries, pickups and vans are the most targeted body types in that order. Station wagons make up 46% of the stolen cars.
66% of the cars are stolen when parked, the more reason car owners should take apply these precautions to prevent your car from being stolen.


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Jan 10, 2023, 2:31 pm121 pts“Passage of Amendment 3 clarified the issue and normal business deductions will be allowed for marijuana related businesses.” By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent Marijuana companies will be able to deduct business expenses on their state taxes for the first time this year, a Missouri Department of…
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Stay on top of the latest news headlines, trends and developments worldwide around recreational and medical marijuana. Sit back and relax, while you read learn and share. On the web or your mobile device, NewsBudz is your cannabis news stream.


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Huawei today announced two new development updates at the Huawei Developers Conference 2.0 Together 2020 virtual event – the arrival of the company’s proprietary HarmonyOS 2.0 (still based on Android) and EMUI 11.
The second iteration of HarmonyOS 2.0 (HongMeng OS in China), will be launching in beta form first to a few users starting from the 10th of September 2020. The beta testing is scheduled to end in December and that is also when end users will start to receive the HarmonyOS update.
According to Huawei, the beta SDK is now available to all developers and it includes the smartwatch, smart TV, and automotive head unit. Developers can start to build their apps and optimize them for HarmonyOS before Huawei phones with HarmonyOS 2.0 officially starts getting pushed out to the end users. Speaking of devices with HarmonyOS, they are expected to make an official debut as soon as 2021.
Huawei also unveiled OpenHarmony (OH) project, which is the open-source version of HarmonyOS. This will be similar to the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) Project. Starting today, OH deployment is only available to devices with up to 128MB RAM, but the company is looking to expand the capacity to handle devices with more than 4GB of RAM by October 2021.
Also announced at HDC 2.0 Together 2020 was the new EMUI 11. The new firmware will feature a more streamlined and clean UI, updated security features, the addition of Always-On Display (AOD) feature, MeeTime, as well as screen sharing support for up to three devices.
EMUI 11 will also add support for erasing an image’s data before being shared, as well as a new memo feature with encryption to keep your notes private.
As for compatible devices, EMUI 11 beta will be offered to 10 devices:
- Huawei P40
- Huawei P40 Pro
- Huawei P40+
- Huawei Mate 30
- Huawei Mate 30 5G
- Huawei Mate 30 Pro
- Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G
- Huawei Mate 30 RS
- Huawei MatePad Pro
- Huawei MatePad Pro 5G


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Lawmakers and consumers ask FDA to delay cloning ruling
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration should delay a decision on whether milk and meat from some cloned animals are safe to eat until additional safety studies can be conducted, a Democratic lawmaker and consumer groups said in separate statements on Tuesday.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Connecticut Democrat, who chairs the U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Food and Drug Administration, said in a letter to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach that there is not enough data to prove consuming products from cloned animals is safe.
"Both the House and the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committees strongly encourage the FDA to obtain more information and conduct additional studies before acting further on this issue," she said in the letter.
The $515.7 billion bill that passed the House of Representatives late Monday directs the FDA to complete further review and analysis before issuing a final decision on cloning. A similar measure was included in the farm bill that passed in the Senate last week.
Separately, the Biotechnology Industry Organization said two of the country's largest cloning companies will announce on Wednesday a registry to allow food companies to identify where cloned animals are located in the country.
A draft ruling by the FDA last December would for the first time allow the sale of food made from cloned cattle, pigs and goats. A final decision from FDA is expected in the next few weeks.
Cloning animals involves taking the nuclei of cells from adults and fusing them into egg cells that are implanted into a surrogate mother.
At present, these products cannot be sold, and the ban remains in place until a final ruling is issued.
Advocates of livestock cloning say it will improve the quality of steaks and dairy products by propagating disease-resistant animals that can produce lean and tender meat or make more milk.
Critics contend not enough is known about the technology to ensure it is safe for humans. They also say FDA needs to address concerns over animal cruelty and ethical issues tied to the technology.
"It is much too soon for this controversial technology to be unleashed in the marketplace, especially without requiring it to be labeled," said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. "When it comes to cloned food, the FDA should listen to the public instead of the biotech industry."
(Reporting by Christopher Doering; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
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Mosquito Squad mosquito control is happy to announce Dan Buchanan as a new franchisee. Dan and his wife Tammy have officially opened the Mosquito Squad of Southeast Minnesota to stop mosquito bites there.
“Dan and Tammy are wonderful additions to our team,” says Boyd Huneycutt, Vice President of Operations of Mosquito Squad. “They are truly passionate about the outdoors and understand how mosquito control can enhance one’s lifestyle. No one likes mosquito bites.”
Mosquito Squad of Southeast Minnesota will cover Fillmore, Winona, Wabasha, Dodge, Mower, Goodhue, Houston and Olmsted Counties in Minnesota.
Mosquito Squad is North America’s fastest growing outdoor living concept franchise. Known as the “mosquito exterminator,” Mosquito Squad mosquito control has five ways to ensure affordable, dependable and effective protection against mosquito bites as well as the nuisance and dangers of mosquitoes, ticks and the diseases they can carry, like West Nile Virus, Encephalitis and Lyme Disease.
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S. Abraham & Sons, a convenience distributor to approximately 3,500 retailers in eight states throughout the Midwest, is switching its Fruit Ridge Farms brand salads to locally-grown lettuce from Revolution Farms, Michigan’s largest year-round lettuce farm.
The Caledonia, Mich.-based hydroponic greenhouse will provide salad and lettuce blends that will go from farm to store in fewer than two days, ensuring convenience on the go.
“Fresh and convenient are two words that we believe can and should go together, and Revolution Farms’ vision of farming means the same freshness you expect at home or in a five-star restaurant can be accessible on-the-go,” said John Green, Revolution Farms CEO. “Our partnership with S. Abraham & Sons brings together our mission to reach more people with fresher, healthier, more nutritious food, and raise awareness of how to eat local greens all year round.”
The salads will now be made from the Revolution Farms Michigan Spring Mix blend, which combines Bibb, Red Oak, and Sweet Crisp lettuce for an elevated everyday mix combining crunch, nutrition, and flavor.
“As families travel more, their food should travel less. Partnering with Revolution Farms brings an incredible innovation to fresh foods on the go. Their lettuce is traveling 95% fewer miles to our kitchens, where it’s made into salads and travels to store shelves in as little as two days,” said George Bennett, chief marketing officer at S. Abraham & Sons. “Working with Revolution Farms means our customers get fresher, more nutritious, and safer salads that are grown year-round, closer to home. We are thrilled to make this switch and provide more ready-made options at thousands of convenience stores across our marketing area.”
Read the complete article at www.cstoredecisions.com.


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Rosati's brings Wausau a slice of Chicago
WAUSAU - Rosati's Pizza has been open for just over a month on Wausau's near-west side, but the manager hopes it soon will become a hangout for those who want good food in a family-friendly sports pub.
The pizza franchise started slinging Chicago-style deep dish pizza in early October, after months of construction to re-work the interior of the former Pizza Hut building at 210 S. First Ave. The Chicago-based franchise acquired the building in January and started renovations in February.
The restaurant boasts a sports pub, outdoor seating and a dining room where families can enjoy a meal together or watch the Packers play on game night. General manager Brian Fruend hopes that the restaurant will become the new spot to catch a game, no matter what sport.
"It's still family-friendly with it being a sports pub, " Fruend said. "Sunday afternoons, the game is on every TV, the jazz music is turned off. We're looking to be known as a sports pub on Sunday and Monday night."
Rosati's also serves pasta, sandwiches and double-dough pizzas — which have a thicker dough and braided crust.
"It's basically Chicago-style Italian," Fruend said.
At the bar, Rosati's can't serve hard liquor, as it lost its bid for a license to Crostini Bar in downtown Wausau, but Rosati's has beer on tap and wine available.
"We're also doing simple cocktails with sake instead of liquor because that's allowed by our beer and wine permit," Fruend said.
The restaurant has three rotating beers on tap and a rotating selection of bottled domestic and micro brews. As for wine, 14 Hands Winery is one of the more popular brands Rosati's serves.
Rosati's is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday. You can expect prices to range from $7 for appetizers to $30 for the largest stuffed-crust pizzas. Pizza by the slice is also available for a quick and easy lunch.
More information about Rosati's, including a full menu, is available at http://myrosatis.com/wausau.
Contact Going Out reporter Laura Schulte at 715-297-7532 or firstname.lastname@example.org; on Twitter @schultelaura.


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5 funding tips from Accel Partners VC Theresia Gouw
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Gouw and Iiya Strebulaev, professor of finance at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, offered a crash course in angel and venture capital funding at Tuesday's Silicon Valley Open Doors event in Mountain View.
The pair explained the science behind the practice, and what it takes to succeed in the crowded startup community.
Gouw specializes in social commerce companies. She invested in Trulia, which went public last year, and other popular websites like Glam, LearnVest and ModCloth. She told entrepreneurs to think of the term sheet as a prenuptial agreement. The relationship between the entrepreneur and VC is like a marriage that will last about eight to 10 years, she said. To make it work, Gouw pointed out five strategies.
Gouw described meeting entrepreneurs who were trying to do too many things at once and becoming mentally scattered in the process. Focusing on doing a set number of things right is key to securing venture capital.
#2: Know the value of the venture capitalist
VCs can help the entrepreneur in multiple ways. The VC has the Rolodex to get entrepreneurs follow-on rounds of funding. There are different investors for various rounds, Gouw said. Those who would fund Series A and B may not fund rounds C, D and beyond. The VC knows who those investors are and can make the calls necessary to close successive rounds. VCs also help entrepreneurs find the right talent. If you need a CTO or a CIO, they have the connections to make the search less taxing.
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Google's decision to change CEOs, announced on the same day it reported yet another blockbuster quarter, begs the question of whether the company is trying to fix something that isn't broken.
Nokia has named Stephen Elop, former president of Microsoft's business software group, to become its new CEO effective from later this month.
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If Palm's WebOS products had gone on sale at Verizon before Motorola's Droid, Palm's fortunes today would be very different, the company's CEO said Thursday during its third-quarter earnings call."
Marten Mickos, the longtime CEO of MySQL who eventually sold the open-source database company to Sun Microsystems for US$1 billion, has taken a new job as CEO of Eucalyptus Systems, the company said Friday.
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Hyundai is updating its mid-size SUV with a Sonata-esque grille.
Despite just arriving for the 2019 model year, Hyundai’s Santa Fe is going under the knife for 2021. The Korean automaker teased the new look with some shadowy images earlier this week, promising more info “in the coming weeks.”
SEE ALSO: 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0T Review
The facelift will keep the current model’s squinty main headlamps, but with new lighting elements within. The DRL signature extends into the foglights, making a T shape while providing the same under-the-bodywork illusion found on the bigger Palisade. It’s the shape of the grille that’s the biggest change out front—literally. It stretches across the entire width of the Santa Fe, enclosing the lower lighting elements. Is anybody else getting a Joker vibe from it? No? Okay.
Two different models are on show here, with the grille treatment being what sets them apart. A standard grille looks similar to the current model’s treatment (above), while the other offers a blingier, geometric design (top).
Hyundai didn’t hint at the engine lineup for North America, but its European office confirmed the new model would arrive with both hybrid and plug-in hybrid models. It also said the 2021 Santa Fe would be the first Hyundai model in Europe to use the brand’s third-generation vehicle platform, which allows for the hybrid setups. That makes this a very substantial facelift—and arguably, not even one, but a whole new generation. Color us intrigued.
We’ll know more next month, when we expect Hyundai to reveal more on its long-running SUV. It should be on sale before the end of the year.


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Australasia’s leading provider of e-commerce services for subscription-based businesses, Debitsuccess, announced today that it has acquired direct debit billing provider DFC (www.debitfinance.co.uk), in a move that will significantly expand the company’s international operations.
It’s a great fit for both businesses with their extensive DD expertise and family-run backgrounds. Debitsuccess, headquartered in New Zealand’s largest city of Auckland, has been operating for nearly 20 years and today processes over 20 million transactions annually for more than 3,000 businesses across Australasia. CEO, Craig Marshall, was delighted to announce the acquisition, which he says is the “culmination of a year of strategic, planned growth for the company.” He went on to add, “With a 38-year history in the UK, DFC is a prominent DD service provider that enjoys an exemplary reputation within the industry. It is an extremely good fit both culturally and operationally.”
With DFC now under the Debitsuccess banner, they have a foothold in a region of the world where there is an increasing demand for subscription services. DFC provides billing services to more than 250,000 customers in the leisure sector in the UK, as well as utilities, publishers and telecommunications providers. The company’s head office and call centre are centrally located in the city of Milton Keynes.
Lynn Young, Managing Director of DFC, is also delighted with the acquisition, and thinks that DFC will benefit greatly from the new partnership;
“This new association with Debitsuccess will add further value to our operations – firstly through sales and contact centre strategy and, secondly, through support at a governance and executive level.”
Post acquisition, the aim is to continue to deliver the highest quality of service to clients and customers as the company evolves and expands. The ongoing senior staff will continue to run the company under the new ownership structure, ensuring it’s all business as usual.
For more information, visit www.debitsuccess.co.nz


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Thailand is expected to start a first round of negotiations toward a bilateral free-trade agreement with the European Union by the middle of the year, a move seen as necessary if the Kingdom is to remain competitive with potential rivals for European business such as Vietnam and Singapore.
Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot said the Cabinet had recently approved plans for the ministry to set up a special committee to conduct a feasibility study on negotiating an FTA with the EU.”The study is expected to be concluded in the next few months, to determine whether the Kingdom should start bilateral talks with the EU,” said Alongkorn.
The EU last week announced that it would start negotiations for bilateral trade pacts with Vietnam and Singapore soon, as the Asean-EU FTA talks have been suspended for a year. Previously, the EU wanted to conclude an FTA with Asean as a whole. However, problems arising due to the varying development levels and differing interests of Aseans members led to the suspension of the talks in 2008. The EU, therefore, expressed interested in bilateral agreements with certain countries in Asean, including Thailand.
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XPO Logistics Inc. is going on a spending spree, earmarking up to $8 billion for acquisitions and planning to nearly double the hubs in its last-mile delivery network, Chief Executive Bradley Jacobs said Wednesday.
The expansion plans indicate the company is doubling down on its business helping retailers and other shippers fulfill online orders, including managing warehouses and arranging transportation of goods to customers’ homes.
On Wednesday XPO
XPO earned 38 cents a share on revenue of $3.76 billion. Adjusted earnings of 60 cents a share, which removed currency fluctuations and other factors, were in line with average analyst forecasts, according to FactSet. The company raised its guidance for 2017 and 2018.
The Greenwich, Conn., company has grown rapidly by acquiring businesses that include trucking companies, freight brokers and last-mile delivery specialists. XPO’s last major deals were in 2015, when it spent over $6 billion to buy trucking fleets in the U.S. and Europe.
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ST-Ericsson rebounds as MediaTek breaks into the top five application processor suppliers
August 08, 2012 // Nick Flaherty
One of Europe's major chip suppliers, ST-Ericsson, saw a rebound in growth in the last quarter as the global smartphone applications processor market grew 55 percent year-on-year to reach $2.47 billion according to the latest figures from Strategy Analytics.
Qualcomm led the smartphone applications processor market with 44 percent revenue share in Q1 2012, while Samsung, Texas Instruments, Broadcom and MediaTek grabbed the other slots in the top five. ST-Ericsson rebounded strongly as the company's smartphone applications processor revenues registered over 600 percent sequential growth in Q1 2012 thanks to its Nova and NovaThor-branded chips.
MediaTek, for the first time, featured in the list of top-five smartphone applications processor vendors on the strength of its strong momentum in the sub-$200 smartphone segment in China and other growth markets. The company - merging with Mstar - bought Swedish multcore technology company Coresonic last year.
Marvell’s strong TD-SCDMA smartphone applications processor shipments at China Mobile were not sufficient to offset its declining shipments at Research in Motion. As a result, Marvell dropped out of the top-five.
Broadcom continues to execute its smartphone processor strategy well and ranked number four in Q1 2012, helped by its high-volume Android smartphone design-wins at Samsung.
Stand-alone applications processors continue to gain share and accounted for 44 percent of total smartphone applications processors shipped in Q1 2012, up from 39 percent in Q1 2011.
"Qualcomm maintained its lead in the smartphone applications processor market in Q1 2012, but its revenue share dropped to 44 percent in Q1 2012 from 51 percent in Q1 2011, as a result of intense competition from Broadcom and MediaTek in the low-end Android smartphone market," said Sravan Kundojjala, Senior Analyst. "Strategy Analytics believes that Broadcom and MediaTek are emerging as credible threats to Qualcomm with their baseband-integrated applications processor strategy."
According to Stuart Robinson, Director of the Strategy Analytics Handset Component Technologies service, "Despite its strong momentum in the tablet applications processor market, NVIDIA’s market share in smartphone apps processors continues to stagnate at 2 percent since Q1 2011. NVIDIA will continue to miss the large addressable market until it introduces baseband-integrated applications processors."
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Unique Ser/Des technology supports encrypted video and audio content with full duplex bi-directional control channel over a single wire interface.


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From today, March 19, 2018
- Uber Suspends Driverless-Car Program After Pedestrian Is Killed
A self-driving car from Uber Technologies struck a woman who died in Tempe, Ariz., in what is believed to be the first known fatality of a pedestrian from a driverless vehicle.
- European Officials Pledge to Probe Facebook's Handling of User Data
EU officials will probe Facebook?s handling of user data, after the company said it is investigating whether a firm linked to the Trump campaign improperly kept personal data.
- Newell Strikes Deal With Icahn to Fend Off Other Activists
Newell Brands agreed to nominate four independent board directors chosen by Carl Icahn and consider selling more of its businesses as part of a truce with the activist investor, the consumer-goods company said.
- Qualcomm Evaded Broadcom's Bid; Now, CEO Has a Lot to Prove
For Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf, having fended off an unwanted takeover from Broadcom just leaves more headaches, from customer disputes to unhappy shareholders to a long-shot takeover bid from his former boss.
- Chinese Shipyards See Surge in Orders, Margins Remain Thin
Growing demand across bulk, energy and container shipping sectors has carriers expanding, upgrading cargo fleets.
- Fed's Thinking on Rate Increases May Come Into Focus
The Federal Reserve in December expected a gradual path of rate rises would allow the economy to keep expanding without overheating; since then, the burst of fiscal stimulus, together with steady growth and very low unemployment could lead the central bank to be more aggressive.
- Trade Associations to Petition Trump Administration to Halt China-Tariff Plans
Forty-five groups representing a wide swath of the U.S. economy are asking the president to work with other nations to press Beijing to end restrictions on foreign firms instead of imposing tariffs on China.
- The Next Housing Crisis: A Historic Shortage of New Homes
A decade after the construction boom, fewer new houses are being built in America than at almost any time before. ?It?s a good time to be here in Grand Rapids, if you can get a house.?
- China's New PBOC Chief Promises Quick Change
China?s new central-bank chief, Yi Gang, promised to implement changes quickly, saying ?there will be a series of reform and opening-up measures? during the next three weeks.
- Congress Braces for Battle Over Massive Spending Bill
Congress will enter its last major fiscal battle before November?s midterm elections this week, as lawmakers prepare to debate a mammoth spending bill that offers them the last chance to settle dozens of long-running policy fights.
- U.S. Investigates Failing Air Bags in Hyundai, Kia Cars
U.S. safety regulators are investigating Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors cars with air bags that failed to deploy, a problem linked to four deaths and six injuries.
- Women Strive to Narrow a Confidence Gap
Career experts and researchers focus on new strategies for women to shore up belief in themselves with confidence logs, brag books.
- Hewlett Packard Spinoff Falters, as Shares Plunge 55% in London
Micro Focus?s $8.8 billion merger with Hewlett Packard?s software business represented a rarity 18 months ago: a British tech company taking over a foreign one, rather than the other way around. It hasn?t worked out as planned.
- Global Economy Week Ahead: Fed, BOE and Brazil Central Bank Meetings
The week ahead features policy decisions from the Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Brazil?s central bank, while an early reading on March private-sector output in the eurozone is due.
- U.S. Tariffs to Be in Spotlight at G-20 Summit
Global finance ministers meeting this week in Buenos Aires were planning to focus on topics like the workforce in an age of automation and how to boost infrastructure investment. Instead, their attention has turned to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum.
- Why More States Are Tussling With Their Teachers
Teachers from Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona have staged strikes and demonstrations, and they have threatened walkouts over new proposals to install limits on pensions, wage increases and benefits.
- Steve Wynn's Attorney Reported Alleged Sexual Misconduct Victim to FBI
A lawyer for Steve Wynn said he recently reported a woman to the FBI after she threatened to go public about the casino mogul?s alleged sexual misconduct against her, which had prompted a 2006 settlement, court records indicate.
- Rivals Chip Away at Google's and Facebook's Digital Ad Dominance
Google and Facebook have dominated the U.S. digital advertising market for years, but new data show signs that platforms like Amazon and Snapchat are chipping away at the digital duopoly?s market share.
- VW Plans $340 Million Expansion at Tennessee Plant
Volkswagen will spend $340 million to manufacture a new sport-utility vehicle at a Tennessee assembly plant, according to a person familiar with the plan.
- Tronc's Michael Ferro Retires After Los Angeles Times Sale
Chicago entrepreneur Michael Ferro is retiring as Tronc?s chairman after orchestrating the sale of one of its flagship papers last month.


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Stop & Shop reopens after Mamaroneck fire
A fire struck Excelsior Cleaners last week.
MAMARONECK – Stop & Shop in Ferndale Shopping Center reopened yesterday, after a fire at a nearby dry cleaner closed the grocery store for several days.
The business was operating normally Sunday morning, a store worker said.
Town officials had told The Journal News/lohud they were working with operators of the Stop & Shop, at 1326 E. Boston Post Road, to reopen before Christmas.
Firefighters put out a fire at nearby Excelsior Cleaners Wednesday, but power and gas was knocked out to the shopping center as a result. The grocery store reopened using a power generator Thursday night but closed again the next day.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation. It drew 40 firefighters from the town and elsewhere, who fought the fire for 40 minutes, closing down part of Boston Post Road.


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Booking.com has released the seventh edition of its annual Guest Review Awards, which includes a list of Canada’s most welcoming places.
For the 2018 edition of the awards, 759,845 properties across 219 countries and territories are being given an award, with more than 2,200 Canadian properties claiming awards.
Based on the share of properties receiving an award in 2018, for the first time ever Booking.com reveals the most welcoming places, according to customer reviews. The reported most welcoming destinations in Canada are Calgary, Kelowna, Whistler, Victoria, Vancouver (pictured), Halifax, Niagara on the Lake, Ottawa, Quebec City and Mont-Tremblant.
When it comes to the most welcoming property types in Canada, four out of the five are alternative accommodation options: B&Bs (1,568), Apartments (1,048), Hotels (1,987), Motels (600) and Inns (486).
For the second year in a row, apartments are the top-awarded accommodation type around the globe, making up more than a third (36%) of the award-winning properties in 2018. In fact, nearly three quarters (73%) of all the winning properties are homes, apartments and other unique places to stay, including everything from riads and ryokans to homestays and guest houses. This should be familiar to Canadians as recent research found that over one quarter (26%) of travellers say that they prefer unique and quirky accommodation over more traditional places.
The ongoing appreciation and interest from Canadian travellers to experience a wide variety of unique stay experiences is also reflected in recent research by Booking.com with 21,000 travellers across 29 countries which highlights that more than a quarter of travellers (28%) would prefer to stay in a vacation rental (holiday home or apartment) over a hotel in 2019. Twelve per cent said that they would consider listing their own home on a travel accommodation site over the coming year. With 29% of Canadian travellers also wanting to stay in an accommodation type they’ve never experienced before in 2019, the consumer demand in this segment remains strong.
“No matter the type, size or location of the property, what we see from our customers is that they value a human connection when they travel, whether it’s some extra attention to detail or a truly individualized approach to service,” said Nuno Guerreiro, regional manager, Canada at Booking.com. “With these awards, we celebrate and thank all of the amazing accommodation providers who create special travel experiences for our customers on a daily basis.”


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Nio Inc. executives advised Tuesday that development could be exhausting to advance by within the fourth quarter amid supply-chain components, and shares slipped in after-hours Trading.
executives guided for fourth-quarter vehicle deliveries of 23,500 to 25,500 vehicles, which capability roughly flat sales from the file 24,439 the Chinese electric-car firm reported Tuesday for the third quarter. Chief Govt William Bin Li referred to “continued supply-chain volatilities” in a statement Tuesday, whereas guiding for fourth-quarter income of $1.45 billion to $1.57 billion, a range wholly lower than the moderate analyst estimate of $1.69 billion.
Nio has confronted manufacturing components that ended in a severe downturn in October, when the firm delivered fewer than 4,000 vehicles whereas making adjustments to manufacturing. In a convention name Tuesday, Bin Li said the provision chain “remains hard.”
“Our supply-chain crew and companions own adopted a assortment of measures to enhance the file high quarterly deliveries within the third quarter, and ought to mild proceed to accomplish so,” he said.
Nio reported a third-quarter loss of $440.6 million, or 28 cents per American depository fragment, wider than a loss of 15 cents a fragment a One year within the past ensuing from a gargantuan repurchase of equity from a minority investor. After stripping out that payment apart from stock-primarily based compensation, the loss fell to $88.4 million, or 6 cents per ADS. Income rose to $1.53 billion from $692 million a One year within the past.
Analysts on moderate anticipated an adjusted loss of seven cents a fragment on sales of $1.44 billion, per FactSet. Nio stock fell 2.3% within the prolonged session, which ended as the firm’s convention name began.
Nio moreover disclosed that it has offered comparatively of larger than $1.2 billion price of stock since launching an at-the-market offering in September. Nio focused $2 billion for the stock sale when it became as soon as announced.
Nio’s U.S.-traded ADSs own declined 16.6% to this level this One year, as the S&P 500 index
has won 24.7%.


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Love it or hate it, Apple's sales busting range of products - and, more specifically, the iPad - is opening new windows of opportunity for the channel particularly in education.
And while those Apple products are proving disruptive to incumbent vendor suppliers, there's little doubt major channel players are taking a big bite out of the opportunities Apple offers.
Anittel's Peter Kazacos, has seen the value in the Apple market and is investing in iPad accreditation for education.
Analyst firm, Gartner predicts that though technology spend by education (both higher and primary/ secondary schools) will dip in 2011, it will grow steadily from that point and become a $2.02 billion opportunity by 2015.
And despite that expected dip for this year, there are still substantial opportunities in the space.
Victoria, for instance, has been slow to implement the 1-to-1 computing initiative of the Australian Federal Government, and as a result there is unspent budget in the state at the moment, with deadlines looming.
However, a substantial portion of that opportunity will be eaten up by Apple and its iDevices.
“Where the One Laptop Per Child [OLPC] and mini-notebook fell short in delivering true computer-aided curriculum, the media tablet can deliver if schools build them into a larger ecosystem emerging around digital textbooks," Gartner analyst, C.G. Lee, noted in the report Market Insight: Media Tablets to Spur Computer-Aided Curriculums in Schools in Asia-Pacific.
In the report, Lee said the Australian Government has shifted its focus from the minilaps that were part of its initial digital education revolution to tablet devices, offering parents rebates for buying tablets.
For “media tablets” read, largely, the iPad, given that Apple owns over 70 per cent of the market.
Other vendors with a strong education play, such as Acer and Lenovo, have competitive tablet devices and are looking to customise the tablet experience for schools.
Just last week, for instance, Acer announced a partnership with Pearson Australia to deliver Pearson Secondary Australian Curriculum e-books to student and teachers on Acer’s Iconia Tab A500 and Iconia W500 Tab devices.
Despite this, according to Apple and education specialist, Robert Kloester of Designwyse, the interest is already there to move to Apple platforms.
“People are looking to spend at the moment,” Kloester said. “There is lots of interest in iPads, and the current rollouts to teachers and students is only the tip of the iceberg. We’re fulfilling orders for dozens with a view to expand to whole year groups in the coming years.”
Network Neighborhood, a Lenovo partner, is confident that Apple won’t dominate the education space quite as much as the consumer market, but COO, Hanspeter Eiselt, said that if the vendor’s traction in the space was to continue, then Network Neighborhood would look at ways to work with it.
“A lot of schools, when they say ‘Apple,’ they just mean tablets,” Eiselt said. “We want to partner with market leaders and hold our options open, but I don’t want to engage in hypotheticals; we just want to provide the best customer experience for our schools.
“Lenovo has just launched a tablet, which we think will do well in the space and every year there is a new opportunity, and a new year 9 and 10 for the 1-to-1 computing.”
Should Apple gain traction in education, reseller and integration partners such as Network Neighborhood and Somerville Group will find new opportunities on the back end.
Somerville Group director, Craig Somerville, said that Apple technologies would place new requirements on the network and infrastructure side.
“On the question of whether Apple will dominate, I don’t think so,” Somerville said. “It’s definitely making traction, but as are a lot of other products at the moment.”