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(Reuters) - Hasbro Inc (HAS.O), the No. 2 U.S. toy company, posted a third-quarter profit that topped Wall Street expectations but sales fell short of estimates, hurt by a drop in revenue at its boys and preschool product lines.
Sales at its boys category, which includes toys such as Transformers, fell 12 percent to $471.1 million, while sales of preschool products fell 5 percent to $206 million.
Hasbro, whose brands also include Monopoly, G.I. Joe, Nerf and Mr. Potato Head, has been working with its U.S. retail partners to better manage inventories this year.
The company has been trying to shift toy deliveries closer to peak demand periods.
Last week, larger rival Mattel Inc (MAT.O) reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by price increases and cost controls. The maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars said it was well-positioned for the holidays.
Hasbro’s net profit fell to $164.9 million, or $1.24 per share, from $171.0 million, or $1.27 per share, a year earlier.
Sales fell 2 percent to $1.35 billion.
Analysts on average expected a profit of $1.20 per share, excluding items, on revenue of $1.38 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Hasbro shares closed at $39.05 on Friday on the Nasdaq.
Reporting By Dhanya Skariachan and Siddharth Cavale in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane


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As part of our ongoing series of interviews with Missouri lawmakers, The Missouri Times recently sat down with Sen. Mike Kehoe of Jefferson City, who championed the transportation sales tax on the Aug. 5 ballot and who crafted the controversial franchise amendment near the end of the legislative session.
The Missouri Times: Let’s jump right into the Tesla issue. What was the intent of the franchise bill/amendment?
Kehoe: The vehicle franchise law amendment that was put on House Bill 1124 was simply to clarify existing law and three decades of practice. Since 1984, when an entirely different legislature enacted the Missouri Franchise Law, direct auto sales from manufacturers to consumers have been prohibited. It wasn’t until Tesla received a license to sell direct in 2013 that this issue arose. The language in HB1124 was added to ensure that the existing law continued to be enforced consistently for the more than 400 auto dealers in Missouri, just as it has been for over 30 years.
TMT: What steps did you take to insert it into the bill?
Kehoe: The language that was inserted into the bill was language that the Department of Revenue recommended in order to provide clarification. As with any change to a bill, I worked with the bill handler. The bill handler decided to create a Senate Substitute, as is commonly done in order to prevent a series of amendments and excessive time on the floor. The franchise clarification was included when the substitute was offered.
TMT: When did you decide to insert it?
Kehoe: I have been in the car business since my early teens, and in that entire time the Missouri Franchise Law has been in place. Every dealer I know follows this law, as does every manufacturer. It is just a fabric of the playing field. Ever since Tesla applied for the license to sell direct I have been keeping an eye on this issue, as this request would put them on a playing field that no other dealer is on. It wasn’t until late April that I received a response from the Department of Revenue suggesting they believed that the existing law was unclear that I began working to find a solution to ensure that existing law would continue to be applied consistently. HB1124 supported the language and had the trajectory toward passage; therefore I approached the sponsor about adding it there.
TMT: What are the advantages to the bill/amendment?
Kehoe: The advantage is that current law continues to be enforced, as it has been, for over 30 years. This is really an issue of fairness. It makes no sense that all manufacturers are prohibited from certain practices while one is allowed to do so. Additionally, the franchise law was designed as a consumer protection. If people are able to start purchasing cars directly from a manufacturer, who is to say that a Chinese company can’t open a kiosk in the mall where we can buy cars? If we do, what’s the recourse for recalls or product issues if something goes wrong? The dealer system was created to ensure we have local advocates for consumers who have a vested interest in customer satisfaction. Additionally, despite the rhetoric, the current law improves market competition, which means better prices for car consumers.
TMT: When did Tesla reach out to you?
Kehoe: I didn’t hear from Tesla until after the language was added to HB1124.
TMT: Questions have surrounded this bill/amendment since last week, but one had claimed you misled them. Did you?
Kehoe: No, I did not. It wasn’t until late April that we received an explanation from the Department of Revenue as to why they were issued a license. Once we received their explanation, with which I don’t agree, we began working on a legislative solution to ensure that the current law was applied fairly to everyone, including Tesla. Again, I feel very strongly that the law is clear and that Tesla is operating outside of not only 30 years of trade practice, but also 30 years of Missouri law.
TMT: Do you feel there is a compromise possible?
Kehoe: I believe this issue will be resolved, but unfortunately, it will likely take some time to get it done. I have been talking with legislators and stakeholders looking at options and we are going to take an “all of the above” approach to getting this done. It’s about fairness. To disadvantage 400+ current dealers, who are operating under the requirements of the law by granting special privileges to one company is a dangerous precedent for businesses and consumers.
TMT: If not settled this year do you anticipate this issue coming up next session?
Kehoe: In other states, litigation against Tesla has been a necessary step in the process to resolve this issue and it may be here as well. We’ll continue to work on it in months ahead and hope to have it solved as quickly as possible.
TMT: Changing gears for a moment, you’ve been working on the transportation issue for some time. How validating was it to see the transportation bill passed?
Kehoe: I hate that Missouri’s transportation infrastructure is at a place where we had to pass HJR68. Unfortunately, it is. I am very pleased that Missourians will have the opportunity to decide how they want to fund transportation infrastructure in Missouri.
TMT: What is the one thing you would like our readers to take away from this session?
Kehoe: I think it was a great session for Missourians. Allowing them to receive their first income tax reduction in nearly 100 years while giving them an opportunity to address the road funding crisis is important. Protecting life, protecting our individual liberties, ensuring that students are not destined to languish in failing schools, and helping Missouri employers are all things that we can be proud of. Senator Dempsey, Senator Richard, and Senator Schaefer all deserve credit for their leadership.
Scott Faughn is the publisher of The Missouri Times, owner of the Clayton Times in Clayton, Mo; SEMO Times in Poplar Bluff, Mo.; and host of the only statewide political television show, This Week in Missouri Politics.

domain: news


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So, Apple have upped the ante with the 'relaunch' of their Apple TV service, which has been steadily building, but is still a long way from setting the world on fire.
And they've managed to convince all the major studios to participate in their online film rental service.
This is bad news for the likes of Blockbuster, Netflix, CinemaNow and LoveFilm. It's also bad news for IPTV STB manufacturers with a new sub-$230 price point for Apple TV and access to YouTube, and will possibly be a real challenge to the new BT/Microsoft axis in the UK. Moreover, it may stymie Verizon and AT&T's big play to increase ARPU through their high speed fibre services, relegating them again.
So, a serious step forward for Apple which will send shivers through the market, but I still want to know how to get my DVDs to play on my iPod....


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LPG Price Hike: The price of LPG gas cylinder i.e. LPG cylinder has been increased by Rs 50 per cylinder in Delhi.
LPG Price hike: Liquified petroleum gas (LPG) prices have gone up. The price of LPG gas cylinder i.e. LPG cylinder has increased by Rs 50 per cylinder in Delhi. Now 769 rupees will have to be paid for gas cylinders in Delhi. Gas cylinder prices have increased for the second time in February. Earlier on February 4, the oil marketing companies had increased the price of gas cylinders by 25 rupees without subsidy. The increased prices will be applicable from today on Monday i.e. 15 February midnight.
The double hit of inflation
This increase in LPG prices has come at a time when the prices of petrol and diesel have also reached all-time highs. That is, the common man is being killed from many sides of inflation. Let us know that the prices of LPG are also decided on petrol and diesel prices. Explain that earlier the price of non-subsidized LPG cylinder in Delhi was increased from Rs 694 to Rs 719. Apart from this, in December 2020, the price of LPG cylinder in Delhi increased by Rs 50. Earlier, there was no increase in the price of LPG in January.
Explain that the reach of LPG in the country has reached about 99.5 percent. There are about 28.9 crore consumers of LPG in the country. The government is currently subsidizing consumers on LPG gas cylinders. This subsidy comes directly into the consumer’s bank account.
Commercial Gas Price?
The price of 19 kg cylinder has increased to Rs 1533.00 in Kolkata, Rs 1598.50 in Kolkata, Rs 1482.50 in Mumbai and Rs 1649.00 in Chennai.


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Doha – Wednesday 22/06/2022 22:08
According to the organizers, five months before the start of the World Cup in Qatar (November 21 – December 18), 1.2 of the two million tickets sold have been sold.
In the most recent sales phase, 23.5 million ticket inquiries were received, according to the world association FIFA on Wednesday. The greatest demands were registered from Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Mexico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the USA.
According to FIFA, the next opportunity to purchase tickets will be on a “first come, first served” basis. A start date for this has not yet been given. Qatar is hoping for a total of 1.2 million visitors. That corresponds to almost half the population of the Gulf Emirate.
The main headache is the accommodation of foreign guests. There are fewer than 30,000 hotel rooms available in Qatar. This is to be counteracted with accommodation in villas and apartments as well as on cruise ships.


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A burst of 20 apps for your consideration
Band Of The Day is the latest music discovery app, released by startup 955 Dreams – previously behind iPad apps on jazz history and the Woodstock festival. This one's an iPhone app with a more current focus: serving up a new music artist every day of the year, with full-length streaming songs, interviews and biographies. It's all presented in a slick calendar interface.
Penguin Books' latest iOS app is aimed at toddlers, with 48 words to learn in four categories: Animals, Home, Toys and Vehicles. Bright pictures and animation aim to hold their attention.
Gameloft's latest Android game promises – despite the name – to be "much more than breaking blocks". It's the latest rewrite of the Breakout/Arkanoid ball+blocks format, with a host of power-ups, trigger switches and boss battles thrown in to spice up the gameplay.
Edutainment apps publisher Mindshapes has a new release: Hickory Dickory Dock. As the name implies, this is all about learning to tell the time, teaching children how to read a clock, complete with a mouse from the nursery rhyme.
Conde Nast has been releasing a succession of apps recently based on its magazine brands, with Glamour the latest to spawn an iPhone spin-off. Glamour Fast Beauty is a make-up guide, offering video tutorials, tips and product links. It's free, with Lancome on board as a sponsor.
Book Creator is a marvellous idea: an iPad app for creating your own digital books, using your own photos and writing the text. Released by Red Jumper Studio, one key use will be parents making stories for their children. However, the books are output in ePub format, and can support the fixed layout for Apple's iBooks store – meaning that someone could use this to make an e-book for commercial release.
Capcom has released its latest Street Fighter game for iPhone, which collects three separate editions of the Street Fighter II incarnation: The World Warrior, Champion Edition and Hyper Fighting. Bluetooth two-player battles are included.
The Acid House Kings are the latest band to release an album as an iPad app, following in Swedish House Mafia and Bjork's footsteps. This app includes the full album, bonus remixes, artwork, biographies, videos and a karaoke feature.
Tiny Farm is the first mobile social game from Korean publisher Com2uS, and its inspirations are fairly clear: a virtual farm where players breed animals? Yes, FarmVille looms large, but the emphasis here is more on nurturing animals rather than grinding harvests.
The BBC has relaunched the iPad version of its Focus magazine, offering the monthly issue with extra interactive graphics, 360-degree photography and video/audio interviews.
UK publisher NaturalMotion has followed its helmet-crunching NFL Rivals game with something more bucolic: My Horse. It's a lovingly-animated virtual horse game involving grooming, feeding and showjumping mini-games.
Photo-sharing app Mobli came out on iPhone earlier this year, but has now made the leap to Android. Instagram-style filters and a focus on location tagging aim to separate it from the herd (and remember, Instagram isn't available on Android yet...)
Just in time for Sunday's Emmys television awards in the US comes this official iPhone app. It includes information on the shows and celebrities who are nominated, as well as promised live video feeds and updates on winners during the night.
Bounce Mobile's Motorhead Remixer has been out for a while, but it's just been relaunched on iPhone in an "Ace of Spades Edition". Costing £1.49 it includes that famous track, with other Motorhead songs available as in-app purchases. The app itself is about remixing Motorhead – not a phrase we ever imagined seeing in printed words.
Fresh from launching The Daily in the UK, News Corporation has released a new spin-off from its iPad newspaper. Pro Football Guide 2011 is a guide to the new American football season with information on teams, players and betting tips. It's a free download for iPad.
Could you do better than Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola? Or, perhaps more entertainingly, could you be so dreadful you manage to relegate the world's best club team? This iPhone game puts players in charge of Barcelona, mixing virtual management and real-life fantasy football.
Game Collage's Bobo Explores Light is a book-app for iPad aimed at children, exploring various scientific principles of light: lasers, telescopes, lightning, reflections and so on. It has more than 100 digital pages, hosted by a robot named Bobo. It looks beautifully designed, too.
Social mobile games publisher SGN – now owned by MindJolt – has released its latest iPhone and iPad game. Dress Up! Back to School is more of a fashion app, though: adding dressing virtual schoolgirls in outfits and accessories. Schoolgirls are the target audience, in case you're wondering.
Time Inc has launched a new spin-off app for its Sports Illustrated magazine, for iPhone and Android. Football Rivals, naturally, refers to the American sport, with a mixture of text, photos and videos explaining 10 of the most famous rivalries, including the Packers versus the Bears, Florida versus Georgia and the Cowboys versus the Redskins.
Games publisher 2K Games has released a non-game app for iPad. However, its free Piratizer download is promoting the Sid Meier's Pirates! game on Apple's tablet. Here, people can take photos of themselves and then add various virtual pirate accessories.
A note on how Apps Rush is compiled
We compile this daily post by manually reading RSS feeds of all new apps on the iOS App Store, Android Market, Windows Phone Marketplace and BlackBerry App World, with press releases and emails from developers also in the mix in case we miss apps. The criteria when scanning each store is the same: we're looking for interesting and innovative apps.
Some days, the vast majority are on iOS, which understandably provokes questions and comments. Rest assured, it's not due to any pro-Apple bias or lack of effort hunting for apps on other platforms. As time goes on, and more developers release their apps across several platforms simultaneously, we expect this to become less of an issue.
You can follow Guardian Apps Blog's Apps rush on delicious
To suggest links, tag articles on delicious.com with "guardianappsblog"


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Motorola Droid 3 Accessories Showing Up; July 7 Launch A Go?
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire (or a laser light show, at least), and where there are accessories for eagerly-anticipated smartphones, chances are those phones aren’t too far off. There’s been a lot of Motorola Droid 3 information arriving lately, though Verizon has yet to publicize a release date for the model. While the smartphone waits patiently in the wings, its accessories have now started to appear online.
Accessory supplier Qmadix has a snap-on rubberized case for the Droid 3 posted up on its site. The page currently shows the case as “coming soon”, but the images show this is a very real product, one that could be available any day now.
The last rumor we heard about the Droid 3’s release had it potentially set for July 7. While that date hasn’t popped up again to serve as confirmation, the smartphone got a MAP designation from Verizon last week. Put together emerging accessories, its status in Verizon’s system, and the newly-leaked specs, and that rumored release date is starting to look very plausible.


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Currently, marketers manage their partnerships by sending emails back and forth, manually syncing up marketing calendars, and working with IT or their agency to build custom landing pages. According to Kurt Uhlir, this allows too many opportunities for these partnerships to break down or become ineffective.
By not allowing a proper measure of success for specific partnerships, there is no way to determine which partner is actually performing. The result of all this is wasted time, ineffective use of headcount, and no ability to glean partnership results.
That’s why Uhlir decided to found Sideqik, a partnership platform for marketers. His platform allows marketers to connect directly with their partners, launch collaborative cross-promotions, and measure the effectiveness of their partnerships through a cloud-based system.
The idea was born during his time at Flashpoint. Uhlir interviewed hundreds of marketers in the course of 10 weeks to really understand the intricacies of what it takes to make these marketing partnerships work, pairing his conversations with past field experience.
“I’ve been part of some really successful marketing partnerships over my career,” says Uhlir. “They take a ton of time and effort to set up and successfully launch them.”
Getting Sideqik up and out the door was no small feat either. Building a strong team was a big first hurdle, but Uhlir pushed further in an effort to understand his team and their unique communication styles: he wanted to foster a culture of communication.
“Jeremy Haile and I worked together at Vitrue, exited to Oracle in 2012, and had been friends for a while, so we knew that we wanted to work together,” says Uhlir. “But it took us several months to really learn each other’s communication styles and how those change given the supersonic pace we’re going at with Sideqik.”
And taking the time to cultivate a culture of communications has led to some initial successes for Sideqik. Recently, Sideqik was featured by Website Magazine and then later selected to kick off Venture Atlanta.
“Venture Atlanta companies have raised more than $1 billion dollars since 2002,” says Uhlir. “It’s a huge testament to what our team is building and sets us up to follow in the footsteps of some other successful marketing tech companies from Atlanta.”
The response from their initial customers has been congruent with their press praise. KontrolFreek came on board early in Sideqik’s life, but Uhlir has also worked with the marketing teams from iTunes, Garmin, Microsoft Games, and Samsung.
“We’ve been part of some great companies before, and have worked in Chicago, on the West Coast, East Coast and other continents. Atlanta tops them all,” says Uhlir.
There seems to be a trend of strong tech startups coming out of Atlanta recently, and Sideqik is another major, local talent. The low cost of living, access to university students, and density of marketing are helping Sideqik thrive in a stout startup community.
Sideqik was featured at our Tech Cocktail Atlanta Mixer and Startup Showcase in October.


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Unlike food and drugs, cosmetics can make it to the counter without pre-approval, according to the Food and Drug Administration. These existing regulations predate public awareness on just how hazardous low-level toxins can be.
In a recent study, which analyzed 17 different name-brand fragrances, the chemicals found in them where anything but eco-savvy! The study was commissioned by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the research was conducted by an independent lab in California called Analytical Sciences.
What shocked me the most was the three perfume products that contained multiple HORMONE DISRUPTING CHEMICALS. Indeed, a total of 12 different hormone-disrupting chemicals were found in the tested products, with an average of four in each product! Whoa! Three products each contained seven different chemicals with the potential to disrupt the hormone system: Halle by Halle Berry, Quiksilver and Jennifer Lopez J. Lo Glow. In each product, six of these chemicals mimic the hormone estrogen, and the seventh is associated with thyroid effects. Some of these potential hormone disruptors were listed on labels; others were undisclosed and were uncovered in product testing.
The sad part about all this is that, the overall study showed much worse results with regards to other chemicals and ingredients found in the perfumes. If you want an overview of the study, please subscribe to my mailing list.


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New York International Carpet Show Adds Exhibitors
August 11, 2015,
NEW YORK-The New York International Carpet Show is slated to run next month, from Sept. 19-21, and two companies recently joined as exhibitors—cc-tapis and Slocum Rug Gallery—for a total of 25. This will be the first NYICS under the ownership of Murtaza Ahmadi, a member of the family-owned Amadi Carpets, which took over the show from Dennis Dodds earlier this year. It will be held at the Metropolitan Pavilion.
GoodWeave will give away this New Moon rug
Other Articles By Author
HFN Launches Interactive Idea Book
HFN's DIGITAL EDITION
COVER STORY: HFN Turns 90
We commemorate HFN's 90th anniversary by paying tribute to the iconic retailer and supplier brands--and the people--that have helped the industry flourish, then and now.
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Up & Coming Leaders - The home industry is in capable and visionary hands as this year’s 40 Under 40 list attests. Today’s young leaders span all disciplines and varied levels of operation.
- Omnichannel Retailing - In the Mobile App World, Time is Money


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By Kazuko Morgan, Vice Chairman of Retail Services for Cushman & Wakefield in San Francisco
There’s no doubt about it: we’re in an unprecedented phase of retail’s evolution. Yet on the West Coast, the sector remains vibrant, healthy, and competitive. Finding an entry point into the best neighborhood streets is tough, landlords continue to field multiple suitors for premium spaces in the best locations, and development in cities like Sacramento and San Francisco is pacing well ahead of the national average.
In California’s state capitol, my team of Cushman & Wakefield retail professionals is currently handling leasing for Downtown Commons, or DOCO. This project is quite literally changing the game in downtown Sacramento, an area that until quite recently was abandoned after business hours, and we’re confident it will have a huge impact on the surrounding area. DOCO will be anchored by the Golden 1 Center (home of the Sacramento Kings), Macy’s, and The Sawyer, the area’s first Kimpton-branded boutique hotel. The 16-story mixed-use tower will include 630,000 square feet of retail space, as well as 250 rooms and 50 luxury residences, and will feature Revival at the Sawyer, Sacramento’s first-ever rooftop pool, bar, and lounge. We’re proud to bring incredible brands like Punchbowl Social, Urban Outfitters, YardHouse, and the Las Vegas-based Echo & Rig Butcher and Steakhouse to DOCO, and we look forward to filling the tenant roster with other hip, luxury tenants that complement Sacramento’s revitalized urban core.
Perhaps the most exhilarating project for the West Coast is Chase Center, the new Golden State Warriors arena that will be coming online in 2019 in the Mission Bay neighborhood of San Francisco. Stated quite simply, everyone wants to be there, and we’re thrilled to be the leasing agents responsible for developing more than 100,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space at Chase Center. Together with my colleagues Rhonda Diaz-Caldewey and Kelly Vinson, we’re actively scouting dining and retail operators that are a perfect fit for this location and will enhance the fan experience at this incredible new arena.
Near Union Square, we’re also handling leasing for 6X6, a new development featuring six levels of vertically integrated retail space. This project is ideally situated at the heart of the Mid-Market corridor along some of the most highly trafficked streets in the City, near Westfield’s San Francisco Centre and the world-famous Powell Street Cable Car Turnaround. 6X6 is slated to open in 2018, and a robust leasing program is underway – a testament to the continued stability and demand around the City’s premier shopping locations.
It’s an exciting time to be a broker on the West Coast, and we look forward to delivering incredible tenants to the region’s high streets in the year to come.
To view Kazuko Morgan’s’ Video Interview from “Live at RECon 2017!” CLICK HERE.
Kazuko Morgan is Vice Chairman of Retail Services
for Cushman & Wakefield in San Francisco.


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Tributes have been paid to a man who died during an industrial incident at Besthorpe, near Attleborough, last Monday.
Fake Cigarettes Sold At Car Boot Sales
Heart listeners are being warned of the dangers of counterfit cigarettes.
Visitors to Easter car boot sales are being urged by HM Revenue and Customs to be on the lookout for traders selling counterfeit and smuggled cigarettes, at what may appear to be 'bargin prices'.
Customs say the fake cigarettes fund organised crime and are a serious health risk. The ilegal trade can also have an impact on legitimate retailers and the local community.
Cliff Hatherway from Customs told HEART how to spot the fakes: "Car boot sales are a favourite, you'll quite often see people who don't have a stand to sell their goods from, they may be just walking around with a suitcase that they'll open up and show the tobacco, and actually hiding them up their sleeves sometimes."
Stuart Crookshank, the Assitant Director for Customs wants people to report the illegal trading. He said: "We would encourage anyone who knows of someone selling cheap or duty free cigarettes and tobacco or alcohol to contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000."
Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances that led to the death of a young woman in Great Yarmouth.
Police are appealing for witnesses and asking communities to be vigilant after six burglaries in the west of the county.
Police are investigating after a woman died in Great Yarmouth.
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General Motors To Add 750 Jobs To Flint, Michigan Plant
GM is expected to add 650 jobs and a third shift to its truck assembly plant in Flint, Michigan. Many believe that GM will draw from its massive pool of laid-off workers, a smart move by the company. General Motors will also pick those that are represented by the United Auto Workers, UAW.
The job opening is in Flint and it involves building light and heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. Now, what could be more American than that?
GM made the announcement at the plant, along side Michigan governor Rick Snyder. Currently, the automaker employs 2,100 workers at the Flint plant, but the demand for trucks has skyrocketed, despite high fuel prices, which has forced General Motors to bring in 750 new workers to the plant to help create the Silverado and the Sierra.
Although Flint, Michigan, is located about 70 miles northwest of Detroit, both cities have gone downhill together. According to the 2000 census, 26.4% of the population was under the poverty line and according to the FBI, Flint is in the top five for cities of at least 50,000 people for crime.
While GM won’t be able to help with the crime problem, an increase in jobs certainly won’t hurt the city. In the fourth quarter of last year, the automaker laid off 3,500 workers, so the pool in which to choose from its rather large.
Two months ago, General Motors announced a $163 million investment in a separate Flint production plant, as well as two others.


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AppGratis was removed from the iTunes App Store on Sunday, April 7, for violating two separate clauses. “The App Store is intended as a meritocracy,” a source familiar with the matter told AllThingsD.
Upon reporting the removal of AppGratis from iTunes, we accurately predicted that said app got the axe for violating a guideline that prevents other apps from replicating the App Store functionality.
That guideline is clause 2.25 from the contract signed by all developers when they agree to do business with Apple.
It states, “Apps that display Apps other than your own for purchase or promotion in a manner similar to or confusing with the App Store will be rejected.”
But that’s not the only reason why AppGratis got banned. The application was also a little bit too pushy, according to the same sources.
A second rule AppGratis went against was clause 5.6: “Apps cannot use Push Notifications to send advertising, promotions, or direct marketing of any kind.”
Which AppGratis did a lot of. In fact, this was the whole purpose of the service. Here’s the official description on appgratis.com:
“Free & paid-to-free apps daily. Every single app hand-picked & tested thoroughly. One unintrusive push notification a day.”
AppGratis will see its iOS revenue stream plummet as a result of Apple’s rejection. It is also unclear whether existing users (who haven’t deleted the app) will continue to receive the valuable notifications.
AppGratis works with 6,000 app developers, “from the biggest names to the sharpest indie devs and we're able to accomodate [sic] everyone.”
“AppGratis offers the opportunity to reach new exciting audiences in more than 30+ countries. Every year we deliver more than 100,000,000 non-incentivized app installs for app developers,” the company adds.
One way AppGratis could continue to fulfill its destiny is to launch as a jailbreak application. Providing even more incentive to customers to hack their devices, a jailbreak-only AppGratis would undoubtedly make some waves.


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NetApp to build MARS waystation from flash dev's kit
Will spit out top secret February product after swallowing CacheIQ
Exclusive El Reg hears that NetApp has a CacheIQ SSD product coming out in February next year, which will act as an ONTAP accelerator, like the Avere products.
This info comes to us indirectly from a person directly associated with NetApp's plans. Such a product could be a stopgap before the MARS flash array - background here - or a waystation to the full MARS software suite using MARS hardware.
NetApp bought the flash tech dev firm CacheIQ just a few weeks ago.
We're checking to find out more, and have had it confirmed by a person familiar with what's coming that NetApp will be making a broad flash announcement at that time, although the details we have are wrong.
NetApp CTO Jay Kidd has said we should expect NetApp flash products in 2013, while CEO Tom Georgens has said CacheIQ product would come first, because of its non-disruptive operations which enable transparent data migration. CacheIQ has IP in this area.
We fully expect NetApp to dance a flash fandango in February, but we don't expect a hologram of Freddy Mercury at the announcement - that would be too flashy. ®


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The Placements.io Revenue Management System Is the Leading Choice for Publishers Replacing Google-DSM
Placements.io, the revenue management system for publishers, announced a series of significant new client wins. Among them are News Corp, Penske Media Corporation, Dotdash (an IAC brand), Slate, Hemnet and autoTrader.ca. These publishers have all signed with Placements.io after reviewing the products available in the market as they leave Google Doubleclick Sales Manager (DSM). Placements.io also welcomed other major publishers as new clients, which had previously used competitive software or in-house solutions.
As Google plans to deprecate their offering at the close of Q2 2019, many publishers are in the process of selecting a new technology partner to help manage and grow complex revenue operations. For those publishers still in search of a new partner, Placements.io offers software built for the real-time, multi-channel nature of today’s publisher advertising business. Publishers benefit from Placement.io’s proprietary migration tool, engineered to dramatically speed up DSM customer migration. Their tool also allows for a thorough proof of concept exercise which ensures that clients can migrate quickly and start to measure their business more accurately right from the beginning of the engagement.
“Placements.io offers a very versatile, technologically advanced platform that is fully integrated and allows us to create much more sophisticated product packages for our advertisers, among many other benefits,” said Chris Guenther, SVP Global Head of Programmatic at News Corp. “We also have better control and visibility over our revenue operations, and have a partner that will grow with us as we embrace new channels.”
“The software is more intuitive and easy to use than other platforms we considered. Furthermore, we felt Placements.io fully understood our concerns and the revenue risks associated with migrating all of our bands over to a new order management system (OMS),” said Joni Antonacci, Vice President Production Operations at Penske Media Corporation. “Their automated DSM data migration tool gave us confidence in their ability to both mitigate risk and offer an optimal implementation timeline.”
Publishers gain significant advantages with Placements.io. Despite being relatively new to the market, Placements.io delivers full-fledged OMS capabilities at the core of a true revenue management platform, and a comprehensive set of integrations. The product also provides a powerful, modern product catalog, allowing publishers to build products more quickly and layer on targeting in a way that improves pricing and preserves discounting.
“We’re thrilled to welcome so many fantastic new clients to the Placements.io family. We are in the business to support publishers, we take their needs to heart in everything we do, and it’s our mission to be that partner they can lean on for what’s next,” said Edwin Fu, Founder and CEO, Placements.io. “We’re focused on the same market growth opportunities as our clients and as a result, hope to foster many positive long-term client relationships. We look forward to helping many more publishers make the transition from DSM.”


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GRAND RAPIDS - Software developer Blue Medora has rebranded and relaunched its retained business. The company, which now goes by the name observIQ, announced Tuesday morning the name change and its intentions on disrupting the observability space. The first step in those efforts comes with the launch of its new open source log agent, which
GRAND HAVEN — A $5 million private equity investment supports UV Angel’s move toward the marketplace with a new product that cleans the air in hospitals and other facilities. Coming to market this spring, UV Angel Air uses the Grand Haven-based company’s ultraviolet light technology in ceiling light fixtures. Air goes in one side of the fixtures,
LANSING - A monthly activity index compiled by the Michigan Retailers Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s Detroit branch registered 72.5 for January, a sizable increase from the 42.1 a year earlier, and a sign that the retail environment is improving. The increase was attributed to the weather and high consumer confidence. January’s reading also
GRAND RAPIDS - Dykstra IT LLC, which provides managed information technology services, merged into Quantum Leap Inc., a telecommunications provider, MIBiz Reports. Staff from Dykstra IT moved into Quantum Leap’s facility on 44th Street in Grand Rapids and founder Drew Dykstra became a partner. Terms of the deal were undisclosed. Quantum Leap often used Dykstra
GRAND RAPIDS - Corey Hart returned to Grand Rapids last September to find that support for entrepreneurship and startup companies had grown well beyond what it was when he left for California a decade earlier. The Forest Hills native and serial entrepreneur now wants to help move the local entrepreneurial ecosystem forward even more with
GRAND RAPIDS — Lambert & Co. closed on its second acquisition in two months with a deal for New York-based Casteel Schoenborn Investor Relations & Corporate Communications. For the Grand Rapids-based public relations and investor relations firm Lambert & Co., the deal accelerates the company’s growth strategy and boosts its investor relations and financial services expertise, according to
GRAND RAPIDS - An assortment of state-backed capital funds and initiatives to support business startups, innovation and entrepreneurs recently earned renewal in Lansing. The Michigan Strategic Fund Board last month allocated more than $7 million that will go to back entrepreneurs working to bring innovations to market. Half of the money will go to the Grand Rapids-based Michigan
GRAND RAPIDS — Grand Ventures led an investment round in CRE Simple Inc., an Oakland, Calif.-based fintech firm focused on commercial real estate. The Grand Rapids venture capital firm led the round with Fin Venture Capital in San Francisco. Two Chicago-based firms, Darkknight Ventures and Sandalphon Capital, along with Durham, N.C.-based Duke Angel Network and other private investors
LANSING - A proposed settlement between Consumers Energy and independent power producers could lead to hundreds of megawatts of solar power being built within the next four years. On Thursday, the utility filed the proposed settlement with the Michigan Public Service Commission hoping to resolve a more than year-long dispute with solar developers looking to sell power to Consumers.
GRAND RAPIDS - A majority of retailers across Michigan report higher sales this spring and expect to sustain growth well into the summer. In a monthly survey released in late May by the Michigan Retailers Association, 56 percent of respondents reported a month-to-month increase in sales from March to April, while 29 percent had lower sales.


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Retailers on hiring spree to drive e-commerce bizMonday, September 01, 2014 l Source: Livemint
Retailers such as Future Group, Arvind Ltd, Wal-Mart India Pvt. Ltd and Godrej’s Nature’s Basket are hiring senior executives to grow their fledgling online businesses and open new stores. After a lull of two years, hiring is increasing in the sector with around 100 senior executives expected to be placed, especially in niche positions during the year, hiring firms say.
Search firms EMA Partners International, Executive Access (India) Pvt. Ltd, Transearch India Pvt. Ltd and ABC Consultants have each got five to 15 mandates in the past quarter. The retail sector, which employs about 35 million people, took a hit when the economy slumped to a 10-year low in 2012-13. Retailers shut unprofitable stores, even as rising inflation slowed discretionary spending. In addition, the rapid growth in online retail, led by companies such as Flipkart and Amazon, made matters worse for organized retailers.
Organized retailing, mainly brick-and-mortar businesses, makes up just 8% of the $478 billion retail market in India, according to a May report by Technopak Advisors, a consulting firm. The fast-growing e-commerce market is already worth $3.1 billion, or 10% of organized retailing, according to a 2013 CLSA report. This has led most retailers to adopt the online model, and they are roping in the best talent to drive it.
“Demand for senior-level hiring has picked up in the last quarter, where we have received about 8-10 mandates from lifestyle, apparel and e-commerce companies,” said Avisekh Agarwal, associate director, Executive Access (India) Pvt. Ltd. He added that the growing online business is making retailers look at talent, differently. Kishore Biyani-led Future Group and food retailer Godrej Nature’s Basket are among those scouting for senior executives in niche positions. “New roles are being created to make our online business more robust,” said Mohit Khattar, managing director, Godrej Nature’s Basket, which has 32 stores.
The company is scouting for positions including the head of online operations and head of loyalty programmes for its online business it launched a year ago. The 35,000-strong Future Group has gone one step above selling online. It adopted an omni-channel model in 2013, where its inventory is sold directly through a group of franchisees, who, armed with a tablet, secure orders at the doorstep, followed by product delivery over the next few days. To enable this, the company is looking to hire specialists in technology, customer service, supply chain and sales and delivery functions.
This is part of its bigger “people design change” (a change in job roles and responsibility) being executed to keep up with changing environment in retail, said Kaustubh Sonalkar, chief people officer of Future Group, that has retail chains like Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar and Ezone. For this kind of specialized talent, hiring firms are turning towards expats. “Retail firms are at a stage where they can’t afford to experiment or make mistakes. We need talent from mature markets who understand the complexities of the business, even though they come at 30-40% higher salaries” said K. Sudarshan, managing partner, EMA Partners.
Besides the online focus, for some retailers such as Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd, the new brands they have brought into the market, is driving hiring. “Hiring will be a key activity for us this year. In the first quarter, we closed 60 positions (mid and senior level) to grow our new brands Children’s Place, US Polo and Gap. We expect to continue this hiring momentum this year,” said Phani Raja, head of talent acquisition and retail human resources at Arvind. With 100% FDI in multi-brand retail still in limbo, domestic retailers are using the inaction to capture more market, said Shiv Agrawal, managing director of executive search firm ABC Consultants, whose firm is working on 14 mandates for senior executives.


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Hamleys to retail Ben 10 merchandise in Dubai.
Hamleys at The Dubai Mall, the Middle East flagship store of Hamleys, one of the world's largest toy shops, has launched the sale of Ben 10 Alien Force merchandise.
This makes Hamleys the first and only toy store in the Middle East to retail toys and merchandise of the hugely popular cartoon character.
"Ben 10 is a huge craze around the world. Ask any child what their favourite cartoon character is currently, and the answer invariably will be Ben 10," said Melanie Bouchaoui, store manager, Hamleys at The Dubai Mall.
"We are indeed proud to be the first and only toy store to offer the Ben 10 Alien Force merchandise in the region, and over the coming weeks, children in the UAE can expect a host of surprises featuring their favourite Ben 10 characters."
"As for the launch, we are expecting a major buzz over this festive weekend as children will be eagerly waiting to get their hands on their favourite Ben 10 characters. Our advice to them would be, rush to Hamleys before stocks run out," she added.
Ben 10 is an American animated television series that is produced by Cartoon Network Studios and broadcast by Cartoon Network. The story is about a ten year old boy, Ben Tennyson, who is almost hit by an alien pod.
In the pod, he finds 'Omnitrix', a watch-like structure that bestows him the power to change into 10 unique alien heroes. Each hero is endowed by a distinct superpower.
Ben 10 Alien Force is set five years after the original series, and the storyline is notable for having matured the character and taking a darker tone, with more complex plots, and sometimes more characters dying.
Hamleys at The Dubai Mall is offering the complete Ben 10 package including the Omnitrix watch and figurines of the main characters - Ben 10, Humongousaur, Chromastone, Echo Echo, Swampfire, Goop, Big Chill, Jetray, Brainstorm, Spidermonkey and Ben 10 Action Cruiser. -- TradeArabia News Service
Copyright 2008 www.tradearabia.com
Copyright 2009 Al Hilal Publishing & Marketing Group
Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company
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|Publication:||TradeArabia (Manama, Bahrain)|
|Date:||Nov 26, 2009|
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Why Sainsbury’s wants to help Britons to live better: We meet boss Mike Coupe to discuss its Living Well index, boardroom pay and Brexit deals
One of the perks of the chief executive’s job is meant to be a grand corner office. Not for Sainsbury’s boss Mike Coupe, who roosts in a little pod on the edge of an open-plan floor in the headquarters in London’s Holborn.
There is a functional desk and utilitarian sofas to sit on. It’s not even clear whether it really is his office or a communal meeting room. ‘It does have photos of my family on those shelves, but sometimes I do find other people in here.’
Do they scurry out when he arrives? ‘Some do, some don’t. To be fair, most of the time what they are doing is probably more important that what I’m doing.’
Bonus: Boss Mike Coupe believes the supermarket can help in the wellbeing of the nation
It all fits with the company’s slogan, ‘Live Well for Less’, which struck a chord in austerity Britain after the financial crisis.
Variants of it, Coupe says, date back to the foundation of Sainsbury’s in 1869 when it was ‘Quality Perfect, Prices Lower.’
The supermarket has been working for a year with Oxford Economics and the National Centre for Social Research on compiling a ‘Living Well’ index that will be published for the first time this week.
The findings will be based on a panel of 8,000 people who have been quizzed on their relationships, their health, their job security, their happiness levels and their anxieties. Its aim is to paint a picture of the nation’s wellbeing, from mental health to family relationships and financial pressures.
Coupe, 56, says he wants to identify areas where Sainsbury’s might help, which sounds quite a long way from the normal remit of a supermarket to sell groceries. So how might the company boost the nation’s happiness factor?
‘Well, we employ almost 200,000 people, so we should be able to help our colleagues.’
Indeed – but wouldn’t the best way to do that just be to pay them more? ‘A lot of it is not about just money, it’s broader than that,’ he says.
He adds that all staff are on at least the national living wage and that there are no zero hours workers but minimum contracts of 12 hours a week. How does he feel about the Prime Minister’s agenda on boardroom pay and behaviour?
‘I like to think Sainsbury’s is at the leading edge of good corporate governance. My pay is very public and the sum we pay our hourly-paid colleagues is very public.’ He received £2.35 million last year compared with typical employees, who received a base rate of £8 an hour.
‘Living well for less is a philosophy of life, not just shopping. It captures the essence of what we are trying to do. It’s not just spending less money, it might be less impact on the environment.’
He says he puts the philosophy into practice in his own life by exercising and eating well. ‘I exercise. I am going to cycle up Mont Ventoux in Provence in a couple of weeks. I eat reasonably healthily apart from the occasional burger.’
Coupe is acutely aware of the pressures on household budgets in the wake of the Brexit vote. He is at pains to say Sainsbury’s is neutral, because he doesn’t want to offend any of his staff or customers, but it’s clear that the referendum result has been a headache.
The fall in sterling following the vote has increased the cost of imports and there is uncertainty for thousands of the grocer’s non-British staff.
He says it has been ‘a big problem in terms of the pound’, which has fallen sharply in value against the dollar and the euro.
‘Inflation is running at 2.9 per cent and that was inevitable when you saw the pound devalued. Roughly half the food we sell comes from outside the UK and of that between 25 to 30 per cent comes from the EU. Virtually all the clothing and general merchandise we sell comes from outside the UK.’
He reckons he has kept a lid on increases by cutting costs and improving efficiency both at Sainsbury’s itself and in the supply chain, so prices at the supermarket have gone up by 2 to 2.5 per cent. That is lower than general inflation.
‘The pound has been devalued by around 15 per cent. We should be credited because we have done a remarkable job in insulating customers from price increases.’ Another difficulty is the 10,000 Sainsbury’s staff who come from elsewhere in the EU. ‘They want certainty on their future. There are three million EU nationals in the UK in total and they just want clarity.’
He adds that there is a bigger issue among suppliers. ‘Take skilled workers like butchers from Eastern Europe. They have taken the equivalent of a 15 per cent pay cut as a result of the devaluation of the pound. Then there are temporary workers picking fruit and veg in Lincolnshire – there are 80,000 people a year who do that.
‘Making sure there is a way for seasonal workers to come to the UK is important for the supply chain.’
Rich pickings: Coupe says it is vital seasonal workers come to the UK
Food and drink manufacture, he says, is hugely important to the UK, contributing more than £28 billion a year to the economy and accounting for more than 13 per cent of employment if farming is included.
Trade with Europe is vital, Coupe explains, because it is our most significant export market for food and more than half of UK farm income comes from European subsidies.
The other side of the equation is that, because we only produce about half of what we eat, we are heavily dependent on European imports for a quarter of the food and drink we consume.
Traditionally, he says, there tend to be high levels of protection around the food and drink sectors, which are typically excluded from Free Trade Agreements.
They also tend to attract high tariffs under World Trade Organisation rules, which could come into play if we didn’t reach an agreement with the EU.
‘It’s very important we maintain food production and get the right deal,’ he says.
What does the right deal mean? ‘I’m not going there. What I will say is this: we put full lorries on the road in southern Spain and they deliver to our distribution centres in the UK, they don’t stop on the way. Anything that stops them on the way in future adds to prices and reduces freshness.’
Apart from political turbulence, the supermarket industry is going through upheavals of its own. Sainsbury’s and the other traditional chains are being challenged by discount retailers such as Aldi and Lidl and online operators like Amazon. The £1.1 billion takeover of Argos last year is part of a strategy to strengthen Sainsbury’s position in the online shopping market.
Coupe grew up in rural Sussex and attended a local comprehensive school before taking a degree in physics at Birmingham University. His first job when he left in 1982, in the middle of a recession, was as a rep for Samuel Heath & Sons, a local high quality brassware business.
He went on to work for Unilever, Asda, Tesco and Iceland before moving to Sainsbury’s, where he spent a decade climbing the ladder to become chief executive.
Who does the shopping chez Coupe? ‘Well, sometimes I do it myself. But my wife mainly does it.’ Does she sneak in any cheeky stuff from Tesco or Aldi? ‘I couldn’t possibly say. But it’s important to keep an eye on the competition.’
His wife and two daughters in their early 20s live in York. He lives in London during the week and goes back north at the weekends.
He lets off steam by playing the guitar. ‘Occasionally I do go home and turn the amp up,’ he says.
One memorable moment was when he performed in front of 5,000 colleagues at a conference in Birmingham eight years ago.
He was trying to encourage staff to sell more seafood for Christmas and had hit on the idea of singing an adapted version of James Blunt’s hit, You’re Beautiful, to a colleague dressed up as a crustacean named Dawn the Prawn.
‘ “You’re beautiful…pink plump and tasty and so demure.” That was one of the lines,’ he reminisces. ‘The crowd loved it,’ he adds, not sounding wholly convincing.
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Amazon Turkey website officially launched trial operation for Chinese sellers today
Amazon Turkey launched a trial operation for Chinese sellers today
June 2, 2023 – Friday
· Daily Headlines ·
0 1 Amazon Turkey opens trial operations for Chinese sellers today
Starting from June 1, 2023, Amazon Turkey has opened trial operations for Chinese sellers. After successfully joining the trial project of Amazon Turkey, sellers can log in to the Turkish site in their Amazon Europe Union account without additional audit. For FBA sellers, the Turkey site can directly share inventory with the four European countries without additional shipments. To help sellers further improve their profit margins, some categories charge lower commission rates than mature European sites. It is worth mentioning that although the trial operations have just been opened, Amazon Turkey has equipped sellers with rich on-site marketing resources.
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The latest data released by the Consumer Research Platform CIRP shows that over the past year, 23% of Amazon Prime members who subscribed monthly cancelled their subscription, of which 41% used it for no more than 6 months. Nevertheless, for Amazon, this is an expected result. The research shows that among the members who cancelled their Prime monthly service over the past year, 35% subscribed for 10-12 months, the highest proportion; 17% subscribed for 7-9 months; 22% subscribed for 2-3 months; 19% subscribed for 4-6 months. A small portion of subscribers had a duration of more than 12 months or less than 2 months. CIRP stated in its latest report that although monthly membership subscriptions are often interrupted, more than 77% of monthly members still continue to subscribe to this service. Moreover, a considerable portion of those who cancelled their subscription over the past year had been subscribed for more than 7 months. The loss of monthly members has little impact on Amazon. According to Amazon spokesperson Sarah Lasky, Amazon has more than 200 million members worldwide, and Statista estimates that there are only 167.2 million members in the United States alone. As of March this year, most Amazon buyers (73%) reported that they were Prime members, while 17% said they had never joined.
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Apple has been removing some apps that share location data with third parties and informing developers that their app violates two parts of the App Store Review Guidelines. “The company informs developers via email that ‘upon re-evaluation,’ their application is in violation of sections 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 of the App Store Review Guidelines, which pertain to transmitting user location data and user awareness of data collection,” reports 9to5Mac. From the report: Apple explains that developers must remove any code, frameworks, or SDKs that relate to the violation before their app can be resubmitted to the App Store. Apple’s crackdown on these applications comes amid a growing industry shift due to General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, in the European Union. While Apple has always been a privacy-focused company, it is seemingly looking to ensure that developers take the same care of user data.
In the instances we’ve seen, the apps in question don’t do enough to inform users about what happens with their data. In addition to simply asking for permission, Apple appears to want developers to explain what the data is used for and how it is shared. Furthermore, the company is cracking down on instances where the data is used for purposes unrelated to improving the user experience.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.


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Zynga to Trade on Nasdaq
The maker of "FarmVille" and "Words With Friends" says that after its IPO it will trade under the symbol ZNGA.
Zynga, the top maker of games for Facebook, will trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ZNGA after its initial public offering, the company said Thursday.
Though Nasdaq has traditionally been the home of young technology companies -- especially Internet start-ups -- recent tech IPOs like LinkedIn and Pandora Media have gone with the New York Stock Exchange.
Zynga announced in July it was seeking to raise $1 billion in its IPO, though there's no specific date that it will debut as a publicly traded company.
Zynga is the company behind CityVille and FarmVille as well as popular word games like Hanging With Friends and Words With Friends. Usually simple to play, Zynga's games are free and the company earns revenue by selling upgraded versions and add-ons as well as advertising.
According to its website, 232 million people play Zynga games, with 60 million of them considered "daily active users."
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The Wi-Fi Alliance this morning announced that it is nearing completion of a new specification that will allow WiFi devices to connect to each other - devices such as mobile phones, cameras, printers, as well as devices such as keyboards and headphones - and that certification is expected to begin mid-next year.
I know. It sounds an awful lot like Bluetooth. But I suspect that this will be better.
The key here is that these devices will operate on a peer-to-peer basis, instead of linking to each other via the WiFi network. In a statement, WI-FI Alliance executive director Edgar Figueroa said:
Wi-Fi Direct represents a leap forward for our industry. Wi-Fi users worldwide will benefit from a single-technology solution to transfer content and share applications quickly and easily among devices, even when a Wi-Fi access point isn't available. The impact is that Wi-Fi will become even more pervasive and useful for consumers and across the enterprise.
The new technology will support typical WiFi ranges, which are much greater than Bluetooth, and will be able to tackle bandwidth-hungry tasks, as well. My experiences with Bluetooth have been hit-or-miss - mostly using a mobile phone earpiece, connecting a wireless mouse and transferring files between my Blackberry and laptop.
Funny story: at a tech event recently, I shot a picture on my phone and wanted to upload it to my laptop so I could put it in a blog post. But when I asked my phone (and laptop) to find the other Bluetooth device, I came up with a list of more than a dozen devices within range. Having no idea which of those were mine, I scrapped the file-transfer and just did the photo upload later.
Seeing how WiFi has a broader range and this new specification would allow multiple devices to connect directly with a single device (like an office printer), I imagine the airwaves will become a bit cluttered by devices trying to find each other.
I guess it's time to start thinking of some cool names for my devices so I can spot them when they're lined up next to hundreds of others in a crowded office or conference setting.


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Food and beverage companies are combing through their garbage looking for potential profits.
Mondelez International Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Anheuser-Busch InBev SA are among the industry giants developing foods and drinks from foodstuffs like cocoa husks and spent brewing grain that they and their suppliers have long discarded. They’re hoping to attract consumers who say they want companies to waste less and lessen their environmental impact.
Next in Journal Reports: Leadership
Hog farmers want to edit pigs’ genes to create disease-resistant herds. But some say regulatory scrutiny could stall the technology in the U.S.
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Earlier today, it was pointed out that Colin Kaepernick’s name was bleeped out in the song YG song “Big Bank”, in Madden 19. Kaepernick, who has been a highly debated topic in the NFL for some time. Ever since he voiced his opinions and took a knee during the national anthem, he has yet to make it back onto any team in the NFL. The scrubbing out of his name was caught by more than few earlier today and shortly afterward started circulating on Twitter and various outlets.
Many had thought that perhaps EA was caught up in the NFL’s politics surrounding Kaepernick. However, in a recent update from EA, it appears that this wasn’t true after all. Instead, EA admits that this was an “unfortunate mistake” on their part. This mistake was due to them believing that they didn’t have the rights to Kaepernick’s name. Which resulted in it being bleeped out of the song.
EA has acknowledged this mistake and has stated they’ll make it right. An update will be pushed to Madden 19 on August 6, and Kaepernick’s name will be referenced again.
— EA SPORTS Madden NFL (@EAMaddenNFL) August 3, 2018
On EA’s part, at least they came out and addressed their mistake. Which is more than I can say about the NFL. To be honest, I don’t completely buy into EA’s explanation. Aren’t these things you check prior? If you don’t know if you have access or rights to something, wouldn’t you ask to confirm that?
Madden 19 is currently available to play right now on EA/Origin Access as a 10-hour trial. For those who’ve signed up for EA’s Origin Access Premier now have access to the full game. For everyone else, the game will be available on August 10, for PS4, Xbox One and for the first time in a long time, PC.


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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Shoes On A Shoestring is closing its final store at 7200 Montgomery Blvd NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The store’s lease expires at the end of the summer 2018, and after 44 years in retail throughout several states, owner Dave Riddle has decided to move on to other chapters in his life. Shoes On A Shoestring has been in business for 27 years.
A liquidation sale, beginning immediately, will include over 20,000pairs of shoes and other inventory. All retail fixtures, office furniture and shelving will liquidated.


text: DUBLIN, Calif., Nov. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a joint national survey conducted by Sybase 365, the mobile services arm of SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and global leader in mobile interconnection services and mobile commerce solutions, and the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), the leading global trade association for the mobile industry, mobile devices are playing a more crucial role than ever before in influencing consumers' shopping decisions at the point of sale and across every stage of the purchase funnel. This survey of 1,000 adults in the U.S. found that mobile's influence over consumer shopping behaviors is far greater than it was a year ago. As confirmed in the study, a vast majority (87%) of respondents reported that they will use their mobile device to change the way they shop this holiday season. Additionally, 50 percent of consumers plan to make a purchase with their mobile device this holiday season either through mobile web, apps, at the point of sale (POS) or using SMS/text or voice on their device. Consumers also plan to use their mobile devices for comparing prices, researching deals and coupons, locating product reviews, avoiding long shopping lines, and tracking loyalty points. In a similar survey conducted by Sybase 365 and the MMA a year ago, 62 percent of respondents said they would use their mobile device to help them make purchasing decisions over the holiday season, thus indicating that consumers today are more eager to use their mobile device as a tool of transaction. While mobile commerce platforms continue to gain traction in terms of consumer use and adoption, the study pinpoints areas to evolve the overall shopping experience. Sixty-one percent of consumers would be more willing to use their mobile devices to influence their purchasing decisions at the POS if improvements were made to the current consumer experience. Some of the improvements that consumers would like to see include more accurate results that are relevant to their shopping habits and exact location (48%), more secure connections to ensure their transactions are safe (46%) and faster connection speeds in order to obtain immediate results when they are about to make a purchase (38%).


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#HallOfFame | Man Booker Prize 2015 Long List
The prestigious Man Booker Prize recently released their long list for 2015.
‘From the very beginning of what was originally called the Booker Prize there was just one criterion - the prize would be for “the best novel in the opinion of the judges”. And 45 years later that is still a key sentence in the rules.
We're thrilled that this year's long list features 54% books by women! Out of 13 books, seven are by women authors.
(H/T @JessicaEsch, thanks for bringing this to our attention!)
When one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world features 54% women author nominees, it's only further proof that nearly all-male book lists should be on their way out. (Take note, Modern Library and Esquire!) Great work, Booker Prize Foundation! We look forward to a similar ratio in the short list this September.
Celebrate our new #HallofFame-r! Show @ManBookerPrize some love
by using the share buttons below.
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54% books by women in #ManBooker2015= #HallofFame! Great work @ManBookerPrize: https://genderavenger.com/blog/hallofame-man-booker-prize-long-list #genderavenger #finestfiction


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By Ann Zucker
Denise Richardson is dead wrong about the “interchange fee” dispute between giant retailers and the banks who provide them credit services (“Memo to Congress: Folk are getting tired of being robbed through credit card ‘swipe’ fees,” 10.13.09). If retailers get the sweetheart deal on interchange they want from Congress, it’ll be an early Christmas for Wal-Mart and McDonald’s – paid for by you and me.
In an audacious request, the big retailers want Congress to waive antitrust laws – which protect consumers and workers – to allow them to obtain virtually free credit services instead of paying a minimal “interchange” fee for them (around 1.5% of the purchase amount, which is far less than it would cost retailers to extend credit themselves). Even as they complain about interchange, almost all retailers accept credit cards, because they are convenient, safe and boost sales.
If Congress lets big retailers shirk their responsibility to pay their share, average cardholders will foot the bill: an additional charge of $400 a year per card, according to economic experts who have studied other countries’ implementation of similar credit-card rules.
Imagine if retailers asked Congress to allow them to stop paying their electricity and water bills. They’d be laughed out of the room! Lawmakers should give the same response when it comes to interchange.
Ann Zucker resides in Weston, Fla., where she serves as president of the Weston Democratic Club.


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ZOOMARK INTERNATIONAL @ INTERZOO.DIGITAL
The opportunities and trends in the industry will be the focus of Zoomark International at Interzoo.Digital, on from 1 to 4 June. The Zoomark events and meetings, organized in partnership with the organizers of Interzoo.Digital, come in the run-up to the in-person event for the international pet industry, on at BolognaFiere from 10 to 12 November.
Interzoo.Digital will host two special events by Zoomark International. The first is a discussion of challenges and opportunities entitled: "Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: Developments and trends in the Italian and German Pet Care Markets". Scheduled for 3 June at 3.30 pm in the Interzoo Live section of the events program, the featured speakers are Dr. Rowena Arzt, Exhibitions Director of WZF GmbH for Interzoo and, for Zoomark International, Pascale Sonvico, Show Office Manager of Promopet srl.
On the following day, 4 June, at 11 am, the press conference hosted in the Industry-Spotlight section will present a preview of the first edition of Zoomark International to be held in person following the pandemic. Speakers: the heads of BolognaFiere and Zoomark International - Antonio Bruzzone, General Manager of BolognaFiere spa, Domenico Lunghi, Director of the Private Label, Food and Pet Industry Business Unit of BolognaFiere spa and Pascale Sonvico, Show Office Manager of Promopet srl - together with the managers of Interzoo, Gordon Bonnet, Managing Director of ZZF and Rowena Arzt, Exhibitions Director of WZF GmbH.
Alongside these two events, for the duration of the show Zoomark International will be present at Interzoo.Digital with its own virtual stand, and will be hosting the Zoomark Café, a space devoted to exchanging information, opinions and insights on the show and the market, in direct contact with the organizers of the Bologna trade show. The first virtual coffee will be every morning from 9 to 10; followed by interviews and talk shows open to the public, who will get the opportunity to speak and put questions to the Zoomark International team from 10 am to 12 pm and from 3 to 5 pm. Like at every trade show, the day will end on a more laid-back note, with a virtual aperitif from 5 to 6 pm where people can unwind and catch up with the latest news on Zoomark International, as we all look forward to meeting in person at the show in November in halls 25, 26 and the brand new hall 37 of BolognaFiere.


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Scotts sales finish the year strong
Scotts Miracle-Gro quite literally made up for lost time in the second half of the year, finishing with fiscal year sales essentially flat from the previous year.
The company’s full year net sales were $2.82 billion, after a 9% increase in the second half, including a 10% increase in the fourth quarter.
"Despite dramatic delays in our season due to poor spring weather, consumers were highly engaged in the second half of the year, allowing us to exceed our guidance," said CEO Jim Hagedorn." He also pointed to the success of Project Max, the company’s cost-cutting and productivity initiative.
Still, the CEO described the consumer marketplace as "soft." The company’s outlook calls for sales growth of 2% to 3% in fiscal 2014.
In the fourth quarter, Scotts sales of $443.0 million, compared to sales of $401.2 million in the fourth quarter last year. The net income line showed a loss of $19.4 million, compared to a loss of $40.1 million in the same quarter last year.
For the full year, the company’s net income was $161.1 million, up from $106.5 million in fiscal 2012.
Granite Gold expands distribution
Granite Gold’s nationwide distribution expanded with the addition of Shaw’s Supermarkets in the Northeast and Stater Bros. Markets in Southern California.
Shaw’s Supermarkets, which has more than 120 stores throughout Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, now carries Granite Gold Daily Cleaner and Granite Gold Polish.
Stater Bros. Markets — the largest privately owned supermarket chain in Southern California — now carries Granite Gold Daily Cleaner in more than 160 stores, from Los Angeles and Orange counties to Riverside and San Bernardino counties and south to San Diego County.
Granite Gold Polish quickly and easily enhances the shine and luster of granite, marble, travertine and all other natural-stone and quartz surfaces, the San Diego-based company said.


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Twitter will now let you pay to undo tweets and read ad-free news in the US
Twitter Blue, the company’s subscription service, is adding new features while expanding to new countries and platforms. The service first launched in June in Canada and Australia on iOS, but starting Tuesday, Twitter Blue will be available in the US and New Zealand and on Android and the web.
Perhaps the most useful Twitter Blue feature is an undo button, which lets you recall tweets before they send. (I can think of a few times that would have saved me from an embarrassing typo.) Other features in the initial launch included a reader mode for tweet threads, bookmarks folders, the ability to theme your Twitter app and app icon, and, as of last month, a Labs program that lets subscribers try out some new Twitter features early.
But as part of Tuesday’s expansion, Twitter Blue is about to get a lot more useful for people who love reading and finding news on Twitter. One feature lets people view ad-free articles on participating websites and gives a portion of revenue from Twitter Blue subscriptions to those sites. If you’re a Twitter Blue subscriber, when you come across a link from a publisher offering ad-free articles, you’ll see an “Ad-free with Twitter Blue” label under the headline.


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Samsung Pay is easily one of the most underrated features of the Galaxy S10 series. While it is a mobile payment service similar to Google Pay, Samsung Pay can also work with traditional PoS systems unlike other alternatives in the market. However, Samsung Pay has a peculiar problem on the Galaxy S10 series. It automatically opens up from the lock screen every once in a while.
It was last year, in July, that Samsung and PayPal officially announced a partnership that would bring the two payment services together, letting Samsung Pay users utilize the payment platform for purchases in retailers, as well as in apps and from online merchants.
So far, Samsung has kept its mobile payment service, Samsung Pay, exclusive to its flagship Galaxy S/Note and certain premium mid-range devices. However, the company is reportedly looking to bring Samsung Pay to non-Samsung devices as well now.
Samsung today announced that it is bringing PayPal support to Samsung Pay thereby allowing users to pay for their in-store transactions using their PayPal account.
After launching Samsung Pay in China, Spain, Brazil, and Russia, Samsung has now expanded Samsung Pay to Thailand. The company had first announced its intention of bringing Samsung Pay to Thailand in October last year, with a limited-access trial run going on in the market since then.
Samsung today announced that it would be launching Samsung Pay Mini in the first quarter of the year, with a pre-launch trial beginning in the company’s home country in South Korea from February 6. Samsung Pay Mini will work with all Android 5.0+ devices and let users easily make online payments.
Taking advantage of its MST technology, Samsung is reportedly planning on launching Samsung Pay in India alongside the Galaxy S8 next year. NFC-equipped PoS terminals are a rarity in India which forms the backbone of smartphone-based payment services like Android Pay and Apple Pay. However, Samsung Pay is compatible with older PoS terminals thanks to its MST technology.
Rewards programs are not new by any means, but when it comes to the mobile payments market, it’s still something that hasn’t found its footing.
Samsung Pay To Expand To Three New Countries By Year End; Brings In-App Payments and Deals to United States
Samsung has announced that it will be expanding its mobile payment service — Samsung Pay — to Russia, Malaysia, and Thailand before the end of this year. With the addition of these three new countries, Samsung Pay would be supported in 10 countries by the end of 2016.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was unveiled earlier this month and brought iris scanning technology to Samsung’s smartphone platform. Today the Korean tech giant announced that the same iris technology has far more uses than unlocking and securing your device.


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Image: Ramen VR
Ramen VR announces the launch of the free-to-play mode for the VR MMORPG Zenith: Nexus on Meta Quest and SteamVR.
Developer Ramen VR has announced the release of Zenith: Infinite Realms for February 27, 2024. The free-to-play mode of the revamped VR MMORPG, formerly known as Zenith: The Last City, will be available for Meta Quest 3, Quest 2 and Quest Pro, as well as Steam. A release date for Sony’s Playstation VR 2 has not yet been announced.
Prior to release, Zenith will be removed from the Meta Quest Store on February 26th at 10 am, as the store app will be updated to Zenith: Nexus which includes both Infinite Realms and The Last City. Quest players who own the main game will still be able to access Zenith: The Last City during this time.
Monetization difficulties cause change
Ramen VR announced in early February that it would be moving Zenith: The Last City to a free-to-play model. The new Zenith: Nexus will include the original main game, Zenith: The Last City”, which is still available as paid DLC, and the free “Zenith: Infinite Realms”.
Zenith’s new free-to-play mode introduces a central hub called City Plaza, as well as new challenges, game mechanics, and abilities. For details on the content, check out our article on the Zenith: Infinite Realms beta, which Ramen VR launched on February 17 as a stress test for the full game. The studio is also introducing a new virtual currency called “Zennies” that players can use to purchase seasonal content and cosmetics.
These measures are intended to help return the VR MMORPG to profitability. After an impressive start with chart records that led to a $35 million investment in Ramen VR, the studio has so far failed to monetize the VR game. According to reports, Zenith has been losing money for almost a year.
Buy Quest 3, Accessories & Prescription Lenses


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ATTENTION: Due to system maintenance on Friday, December 19, this site may be unavailable for up to four hours starting at 11PM ET.
Nearly all business-to-business (B2B) marketers in North America use event marketing, which many view as critical to lead generation. According to recent research, B2B marketers have different spending habits throughout the event cycle. They rely on more expensive channels for pre-event marketing, social and mobile during the action and email post-event. When it comes time to analyze these efforts, it all comes back to lead generation—the top metric used to measure event return on investment.
Recent research finds that there is a huge gap between cost per hour spent with mobile gaming apps vs. cable TV. Consumers pay an average 11 cents per hour with mobile games, compared with 64 cents for every hour with cable TV.
The big winner of Black Friday 2014 was mobile. According to industry sources, around 30% of all Black Friday online revenues came from shoppers on mobile devices. Tablets edged out smartphones in online purchases on Black Friday, and iOS beat out Android in mobile traffic share.
More than 20% of UK internet users have mistaken paid media placements on the web for editorial content, with about half of this group finding these misleading. But how can advertisers distinguish these written ads from editorial?
Despite the buzz around personalization this year, much room for growth remains as we enter 2015, with few marketers and agency professionals reporting extensive usage. And though advancements in technology have been made, for many, personalization remains more of a manual process than an automated one.
Disruptive business forces, technological changes in the product and a newly smartphone-empowered consumer will upend the auto dealership model in 2015, according to a new eMarketer report. Mobile remains an area of distinct opportunity for dealer innovation, especially as consumers have yet to fully integrate smartphones and tablets into the buying process.
In the UK, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are largely arbitrary shopping days, and both are fair game for digital shoppers. But while the Black Friday headlines centered on physical in-store altercations, most of the action was going on online.
One-off deals and low prices are great, but customer loyalty is better. As many as 50 million people consider themselves Amazon Prime members, an RBC analyst told investors earlier this year. And though the price of membership has increased more than 25% since the same time last holiday season, from $79 to $99, its members remain engaged—and purchasing more than non-Prime members.
Ad spending on mobile internet-based formats in China skyrocketed this year by 600.0%, according to eMarketer estimates. By the end of this year, advertisers in the country will invest more than $6.39 billion in mobile internet ads, representing 15.9% of all mobile internet ad spending worldwide. When messaging-based formats are added to the mix, mobile ad spending in China rises to $7.11 billion in 2014 to account for 30.0% of all digital ad spending in the country.
US smart-home device and controller shipments are each expected to rise by 20% or more annually over the next three years, with respective totals estimated at 20.7 million and 1.4 million this year. And according to recent forecasts, smart-home service revenues will double between 2014 and 2019, from $18 billion to $39 billion.
Glenn Fishback, head of global display for eBay Enterprise, eBay's advertising division, works with Internet 500 retailers to drive sales and demand. Increasingly, those efforts mandate a cross-device approach. Fishback spoke with eMarketer about how cross-device targeting tends to be a more effective tactic for customer retention vs. prospecting.
We've all heard about "in the light" sharing on social platforms, but dark social—when people copy and paste content or links and send it to their contacts in a private message—matters just as much, if not more. Over 90% of internet users who share content online do so via dark social, which accounts for nearly 70% of content shares globally.
Tablet owners in Japan are most likely to cut back on PC usage as a result of tablet use. Tablet shipments in the country rose nearly 20% between Q2 2013 and Q2 2014, according to recent research, with Apple devices accounting for nearly 40% of these.
Mexico's digital video viewership has undergone a rapid expansion in the past two years. The number of digital video viewers in the country reached 37.9 million in 2013, and a further 16.7% improvement will take the total to 44.2 million in 2014. Adoption is particularly high among younger consumers, with at least one poll finding 100% digital video penetration among individuals younger than 20 years old.
It's the most wonderful time of the year. As frost and holiday sales nip at consumers' tails this season, where are the affluents? A September 2014 survey outlining the shopping habits of consumers in the US with a household income at or above $100,000 found that affluents planned to do most of their holiday shopping online this year.
One digital advertising trend rising to greater prominence in the UK is programmatic buying of digital display ads. UK advertisers are among the world's biggest proponents of this ad trading technique, and the market for it is only going to get bigger, according to a new eMarketer report.
The number of smartphone users worldwide will surpass 2 billion in 2016, according to new figures from eMarketer, representing over one-quarter of the global population. Our latest mobile user forecast added 19 new countries, bringing our total to 41—including our first estimates for any individual countries in the Middle East and Africa and expanded coverage of countries in Southeast Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America.
Studying mobile advertising through the lens of CPMs shows advertisers placed greater value on mobile display ads in 2014. Prices held steady or increased year over year, despite the rapid rise in available inventory, according to a new eMarketer report, which identifies five factors that worked in harmony to keep mobile CPM prices up in this environment.
The prevalence of social media has made the art of oversharing all too simple. The majority of US teens feel their peers share too much online, leading a significant portion of them to regret something they once posted. Research shows US teens overwhelmingly prefer to engage with their friends in person rather than communicate via social media.
Is this the end of SMS in Brazil? In recent research, 60% of smartphone users in the country ranked mobile messaging apps as their most preferred form of smartphone communication, compared with just 7% who favored SMS. Mobile phone users in Brazil show different preferences when communicating with companies, though, favoring email and phone calls far more than any type of mobile messages.
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Online sales are booming. So much so that Black Friday has shifted from a high-street event to an online one, in the space of just two years, as retailers extended discounting over a week-long period rather than a single day.
In 2015 e-commerce sales were up 11% year-on-year, equating to an approximate £114bn expenditure, the latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index show.
The Christmas shopping period as a whole, defined as the eight weeks between 1st November and 26th December, saw £24.4bn spent online; a 12% annual increase, and a record for the Index.
The greatest concentration of sales during the Christmas period (17%) took place during Black Friday week, commencing 22nd November. During what has become the biggest event in the retail calendar, online sales increased 62% on the previous week, with shoppers splashing out an estimated £4.3bn on discounted goods. This represents a significant increase on the 44% growth recorded during the same period in 2014, and 20% in 2013, before Black Friday existed in the UK.
“2015 has been another massive year in terms of consumer spending, but what the Index reveals is just how dominant the online channels have become,” comments Alex Smith-Bingham, Head of Digital at Capgemini.
“We also saw mobile confirm its role as a primary shopping channel, providing consumers with an unprecedented level of convenience. In 2016 I’m confident we’ll see this influence increase even further with mobile representing over half of all sales made online.”
In terms of shopping sectors, the Index revealed that what consumers are purchasing online has shifted during 2015. The more discretionary items – those sectors traditionally associated as treats - have grown, whilst those that have historically driven the Index have fluctuated throughout the year. 2015 saw the sales of gifts, health & beauty, and travel increase 18%, 22% and 16% between 2014 and 2015. This contrasts with electricals and clothing which recorded a comparatively low 3% and 11% on the previous year, while home & garden sales were down 2% year-on-year.
m-retail in 2015 reported a 42% growth on the previous year, with 45% of all online sales made via a mobile device during the third quarter (August to October). Such is the ballooning influence of mobile technology, for the second year in succession, all growth in the Index has been driven by sales made on a mobile.
This year, IMRG predicts further 11% growth, with total e-retail sales estimated to be worth £126bn by year end.


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On Monday, Pathfinder Ventures Inc. announced that its revenue for the fourth quarter was CA$465,575, totaling a consolidated revenue of CA$2,462,427 in 2021 compared to the prior year’s CA$108,936 (Q4 2020) and CA$108,936 (fiscal 2020).
The company attributed the growth to its three British Columbia camp resorts acquired during the fourth quarter of 2020.
Pathfinder’s EBITDA loss for the quarter that ended on December 31, 2021 was CA$209,548, compared to CA$445,911 during Q4 2020 and CA$323,212 for fiscal 2021 compared to $557,615 in the 2020 financial year.
For its operations, the company reported using CA$1,132,313 and CA$4,154,618 for Q4 and fiscal 2021 respectively, compared to 2020 operating expenses of CA$663,812 and CA$775,516 respectively.
Attendance was also up with 51,481 camping nights in fiscal 2021, up from 31,994 for the year prior.
As of December 31, 20221, Pathfinder’s cash balance grew to CA$2.1 million versus CA$1.1 million at the same preiod in 2020.
“In 2021, the Pathfinder team did an incredible job laying the foundation and groundwork for a successful future in Canada’s growing RV Resort industry. Pathfinder is focused on delivering the best possible experience for our RV guests and we are thrilled to see the increase in interest and reservations at our Pathfinder Camp Resorts. Not only was 2021 our first year in operation but it was also the year we listed on the TSXV,” Pathfinder Founder, CEO, and Director Joe Bleackley said in a release.
“We’re looking forward to announcing more RV resort locations and fine-tuning operations on our 3 fully operational parks in 2022,” he added.
About Pathfinder Ventures
Pathfinder Ventures Inc. is developing a network of premier branded, upscale and family-friendly RV parks and campgrounds under the “Pathfinder Camp Resorts” name. Pathfinder currently has three camp resorts located in B.C. and is focused on growing its network through both acquisitions and new construction. The corporation is taking advantage of the rapidly growing market of Canadians who want to experience the great outdoors in an RV.


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Perhaps seen as sticking too fingers up at Microsoft before the company becomes owned by the Redmond tech giant in March, Nokia has justified the move by saying that it will allow Microsoft to reach new customers.
"We are introducing new customers to Microsoft services like Skype and OneDrive," said Stephen Elop. "With this Microsoft will be able to reach people it has never spoken to before."
As a result Skype video calling can now be access in areas that might now have been able to use the service previously. Nokia is giving away one free month to users who buy a Nokia X handset.
Both X and X+ smartphones will feature 4-inch screens and a decided mid-range bevy of specs. The Nokia X+ has more memory and microSD expansion.
The company also has the Nokia X XL which will feature a 5-inch screen and come with a 5 megapixel camera and 2 megapixel front camera.
The new phones, which will feature a 4-inch screen will run a bevy of Nokia and Microsoft services.
People will be able to download apps from a dedicated Nokia Android store, as well as others, however it doesn’t sound like the device has been Google Play Approved.
The new phone from Nokia will have a very specific and dedicated skin compared to what Android customers will be useful merging the playful Nokia Lumia experience with the power of Android beneath it.
The Android open source OS means Android developers can bring apps to Nokia X family easily. Elop claims its as easy as a few hours programming to port them across.
There will be free music streaming from Nokia Music Radio, as well as free navigation instructions from Here Maps. Because this is an Android powered device there shouldn’t be any issue with getting apps like Vine and others.
Despite being Andoid Nokia free music service MixRadio will come as standard. Users can also access apps from other Stores like Slide Me. Try and buy apps will also be an option.
OneDrive will offer 10GB of free storage from the Nokia Store for photos, videos and music storage in the cloud.
The Nokia X is out now for €89, the Nokia X+ will be €99 in early Q2, the Nokia XL will be €109 also in early Q2 and all will go on sale in "growth markets".
Source: Android Central


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SHANGHAI — Just like Americans, Chinese shoppers are developing an insatiable appetite for crossovers and SUVs. And that is where automakers are targeting a growing number of their products.
At the Beijing auto show, opening Saturday, Sept. 26, global brands will attempt to wow audiences with new vehicles for those segments.
Two years ago, Volkswagen, the market's largest car brand, went on what it called an "SUV offensive," expanding its offerings of crossovers and SUVs from three to 10.
At the Beijing show, the German brand will step up that offensive. Two of the three new products to be staged are crossovers — a sporty version of the Tiguan crossover known as the Tiguan X and the ID4, the first locally produced model for its ID EV brand. The third model will be an all-new Golf sedan. All three vehicles will arrive in the market over the next few months.
But the VW brand plans to grow from 10 crossovers and SUVs to 16, and to boost the segment's share of its sales from 31 percent to 50 percent by the end of 2021, VW Group China CEO Stephan Woellenstein has said.
Chinese sales are migrating in that direction.
Although China's light-vehicle market has been contracting for the past two years, crossovers and SUV market share has continued to grow. In 2019, crossovers and SUVs accounted for 44 percent of China's overall sales, up from 41 percent in 2017, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.
This year, despite the negative impact of the coronavirus outbreak, the segment grew again, reaching 47 percent for the first eight months.
What is leading Chinese car shoppers to abandon other types of vehicles boils down to driving experience, according to Wang Zhixiong, an SAIC-VW retailer in the east China city of Danyang.
"These vehicles are fun to drive as they offer more space and a better view for drivers than sedans," he said of crossovers. SAIC-VW is VW Group's joint venture with SAIC, which markets vehicles for VW brand.
Wang said he's glad to see VW further expand the lineup of crossovers and SUVs. Most of the new crossovers VW has introduced in recent years have been built and distributed by FAW-VW, the German auto giant's partnership with China FAW Group.
The Tiguan X and ID4 will be built at SAIC-VW and will be marketed via the joint venture's dealerships, like his store.
Ford is not missing out, either.
At the Beijing show, Ford will display eight models for Chinese consumers. Except for the F-150, Mustang and the new Focus, the rest will be crossovers and SUVs. They are the electric Mustang Mach-E, making its China debut, as well as the all-new Territory, Escape, Explorer and face-lifted Edge, according to information Ford disclosed last week.
Toyota's Lexus brand will showcase special editions of three existing hybrid products, two of which are crossovers: the NX 300h and extended RX 450h. The third model will be the ES 300h sedan.
Hyundai also intends to raise its crossover profile for the Beijing show. The only all-new China-market product the Korean automaker will present this week will be the fifth-generation Tucson crossover.