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BlackBerry program may help RIM defend its turf (Reuters) : Technet |
- BlackBerry program may help RIM defend its turf (Reuters)
- Top 5 Online Communities for Starting Your Career (Mashable)
- Apple doubles its pleasure with Verizon, AT&T phones (Appolicious)
- Prepaid Plans Abound for Smartphone Buyers (PC World)
- Facebook film "complete fiction": former president (Reuters)
- China sports brand tries to break into US market (AP)
- Newest economic indicator: companies buying iPads (AP)
| BlackBerry program may help RIM defend its turf (Reuters) Posted: 23 Jan 2011 03:05 PM PST TORONTO (Reuters) – Research In Motion aims to keep its dominance of the corporate smartphone market by enabling the BlackBerry to segregate a user's personal data from work-related emails and other applications sponsored by employers. A senior RIM executive says the company would soon introduce software that would effectively give users two phones in one. It's part of RIM's strategy to arrest a steady erosion of its leadership in the corporate segment as Apple's iPhone and other consumer-friendly devices make inroads. Many corporations are now allowing employees to use their own smartphones at work, forcing IT departments to manage confidential information on the iPhone and devices running on Google's Android operating system. But those devices are not equipped with the security and system features that have long given the BlackBerry an edge among corporations and other organizations that put a high value on confidentiality and control. "There are two fundamental use cases on the smartphone - enterprise and personal. The problem is that they are conflicting," said Jeff McDowell, RIM's senior vice-president for business and platform marketing. RIM's solution is software called BlackBerry Balance, which will allow corporate IT departments to retain control over data such as business-related email sent via a BlackBerry Enterprise Server, or BES, while keeping the Web browser and an employee's social networking and photographs separate. EXPECTED WITHIN TWO MONTHS "We just wanted to create an innovative solution that allows enterprises to manage the corporate data side while at the same time give their employees the freedom to use Facebook and browse the Web and get their Internet email at the same time," McDowell said in an interview late on Friday. He said carriers were now testing Balance and it should be available in North America within two months. Balance will also be available on the PlayBook, RIM's yet-to-launch tablet computer. RIM has not said it will host BES functionality on the PlayBook, but McDowell said that is part of their longer-term plans. Without direct access to the enterprise server, a user will need to bridge the PlayBook to an existing BlackBerry to access corporate email, address book and calendar functions. "The plan is to extend it - that's all roadmap items," he said, adding that analyst concerns about the tablet's battery life are unfounded. "It's going to be equal or greater than the iPad with smaller battery size," he said. RIM expects to have some 4,000 third-party apps available for the PlayBook's launch, due by March, McDowell said. RIM Is also planning to incorporate Microsoft's Sharepoint collaborative platform, which is based on its Office suite of products, and allow a single enterprise server to be used by multiple corporations. (Editing by Frank McGurty) |
| Top 5 Online Communities for Starting Your Career (Mashable) Posted: 23 Jan 2011 08:15 AM PST Sharlyn Lauby is the president of Internal Talent Management (ITM) which specializes in employee training and human resources consulting. She authors a blog at hrbartender.com. It's helpful to have someone with more experience show you the ropes when you're beginning a new journey -- this is especially true when it comes to entering the job market. Having a community that shares job openings, tips, resources and words of wisdom is of real value, especially when you can ask the tough questions, such as "Do I really need to write a cover letter?" or "What are the job prospects in my industry?" There are several career communities that focus on those initial years of your career and offer resources for you to start off strong -- here are five.
1. Intern Queen
Intern Queen is a site managed by Lauren Berger, named by Businessweek magazine as one of the Top 5 Young Entrepreneurs Under 25. Berger shares her experience from 15 internships (hence the moniker "Intern Queen") as the foundation for her advice. You can search for internships as well as get on the Intern Queen Hot List, a bi-monthly e-mail of opportunities. The Intern Queen has a strong social media presence on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
2. YouTern
YouTern also focuses on the internship market. Organizations are able to post internships for free and search the resume database. Individuals are able to search for opportunities by location, position, or industry. Searches can also be filtered by paid/non-paid, virtual, school credit and others. Its internship resources page lists other relevant blogs that help individuals rate internship opportunities and educate companies on employment law related to internships. In addition to its blog, YouTern has a robust listing of white papers providing information about college recruiting.
3. Experience.com
Experience.com focuses on helping people learn from the experience of others. It promotes itself as more than a traditional job board/resume bank. The site offers something for students, alumni, employers and schools. Users have the ability to create a profile, network with other students/alumni/mentors, as well as search for opportunities. Its blog contains insights about compensation, job forecasts and skills to succeed in today's workforce.
4. AfterCollege
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, AfterCollege connects college students and alumni with employers via faculty and career networks at colleges and universities around the country. It promotes a network of more than 8,200 academic departments. Faculty can create a career network for their department or student group. After signing up for an account, users are able to search for jobs or participate in network discussions. AfterCollege provides a career resources center with information about interviews and résumés, and also hosts a salary negotiation guide. Its "In the News" page (under the About tab) has a really terrific library of articles about the employment market for college grads.
5. Brazen Careerist
Brazen Careerist is a career management site with several interesting tools. In addition to looking for jobs, users are able to create social résumés, build their networks and blog from the site. Brazen Careerist also recently launched a new program called Network Roulette, giving participants the chance to connect with others in a hassle-free manner. Part of Brazen's success lies in the fact that it taps into its existing users for expertise. It posts user success stories and has a tremendous library of resources, including the e-book "What I Know About Getting a Job" co-authored with Rich DeMatteo from Corn on the Job. These career sites are specifically tailored for entry-level job seekers. What career communities are you finding valuable?
Digital Marketing Job ListingsEvery week we put out a list of social media and web job opportunities. While we post a huge range of job listings, we've selected some of the top digital marketing opportunities from the past two weeks to get you started. Happy hunting!
More Related Resources from Mashable- 4 Digital Alternatives to the Traditional Resume - Top 9 Job Sites to Bookmark for Your Career Search - 19 Resources to Help You Land a Job in 2011 - 5 Ways to Get a Job Through YouTube - 5 Tips for Aspiring Social Media Marketers |
| Apple doubles its pleasure with Verizon, AT&T phones (Appolicious) Posted: 23 Jan 2011 01:40 PM PST |
| Prepaid Plans Abound for Smartphone Buyers (PC World) Posted: 23 Jan 2011 01:53 PM PST The business of selling prepaid wireless plans and phones is growing and changing. The market for such products used to be mainly lower-income people, but prepaid has moved up the income scale and is now actively marketed to middle-income families. The prepaid carriers have also done their best in recent years to answer the desire for smartphones among new subscribers they're trying to attract. Buying a smartphone and a plan that includes data service has it own set of pros, cons, and considerations, which we'll cover operator by operator below. The Pros If you are a budget-conscious person or just don't like the idea of being tied to a contract for at least a year, it may be in your best interest to go with a prepaid mobile phone plan. With a prepaid plan, you can either pay by month or on a day-to-day basis. Many plans feature the same options that you would get by signing a contract, but at a lower price. Not being tied to a contract means that you aren't obligated to stick with that mobile carrier should you not be satisfied with their service. Prepaid plans often do not require a credit check, giving more people the opportunity to sign up regardless of their financial status. The Cons The biggest drawback of going prepaid will be that you will probably end up paying substantially more for your phone than if you had obtained it with a two-year contract. Your choices of phones will also be limited in terms of what you can use with a prepaid plan. The carrier you are looking at may offer smartphones for people on contract and offer only feature phones for prepaid customers. One other negative aspect of going prepaid is that unless you went with an "unlimited everything" package, minutes and extras (such as texting and data) will cost extra. If you are someone who is constantly texting and talking, it would probably be best for you to go all out for an unlimited package and downgrade from there depending on your usage. Where Can I Get A Prepaid Plan? One of the beautiful things about going prepaid is that you have the freedom of choosing your carrier (and there are quite a few you can choose from). I'll focus here on carriers that sell prepaid plans (including data service) for smartphones, not feature phones (hence no AT&T GoPhone). I'm also focusing here only on carriers with large regional to national coverage, though you might also shop around and see if there are any smaller local carriers that have what you want at a lesser price. T-Mobile Phones: T-Mobile's prepaid smartphone offerings are a bit sparse--only the Nokia Neuron ($130) and the Android powered Comet ($150) are available to prepaying customers. Plans: T-Mobile offers both monthly plans and pay-as-you-go plans that let you pick and choose the services you want. The cheapest of the monthly plans cost $30 a month for 1500 minutes or text messages, whichever comes first, and 30MB of data. The premium package offers unlimited talk and text messaging with 2GB of data for $70 per month. A pay-as-you-go plan allows you to pick and choose your services. So if you don't talk on the phone much but love to surf the Web, you can pay $10 for 30 minutes and $50 for 1GB of data. Coverage: T-Mobile is a nationwide carrier. (Coverage map) Boost Mobile Phones: Boost Mobile has the Motorola i1 ($350) and the BlackBerry Curve 8530 ($200). Plans: Boost's plans are cheaper than T-Mobile's, with unlimited talk, text, and data coming in at $50/month ($60 for BlackBerry users). Boost also rewards longtime customers through its "Shrinkage" program. After 18 on-time payments your bill drops to $35. Not a bad deal if you plan on having a prepaid phone for more than a year. Coverage: Boost's coverage area consists mainly of the eastern United States and parts of California and Texas. (Coverage map) Notes: Although the phones are pricey, the monthly costs make Boost an appealing prepaid provider. Cricket Wireless Phones: Cricket Wireless boasts two Android phones--the Huawei Ascend ($140) and the Sanyo ZIO by Kyocera ($140), as well as a BlackBerry Curve 8530 ($160). Plans: In order to use a Blackberry or Android phone on Cricket, you will have to get a BlackBerry or Android unlimited talk/text/data plan (both are $55 per month). Coverage: Cricket's coverage area consists of the Eastern United States and parts of the West Coast going into Arizona and Texas (roaming is available outside these areas, however). Notes: Cricket recently launched a "Muve" music service. For $55 per month you get unlimited talk/text/data along with unlimited ringtone and full-track music downloads. The service is available only on the yet-to-be-released Samsung Suede (a feature phone), but it's something to consider if you're a big music fan. MetroPCS Phones: MetroPCS offers a handful of prepaid smartphones, including the BlackBerry Curve 8530 ($250) and the Huawei Ascend ($130). Unique to MetroPCS are the Optimus M ($200, cousin to the Optimus T on T-Mobile) and the Samsung Code ($250), a Windows Mobile phone. Plans: MetroPCS plans start at $40 per month ($60 if you go with the BlackBerry) and go up from there depending on what features you want. MetroPCS is unique in that it offers 4G LTE (starting at $40 per month), though as of this writing only the Samsung Craft (a feature phone) is LTE-compatible. Coverage: As with Boost, MetroPCS covers mainly the Eastern United States and parts of California and Texas. People not living in those areas should check to see if they are within the MetroPCS coverage area. U.S. Cellular Phones: Voted the number-one carrier by Consumer Reports; U.S. Cellular has a bevy of smartphones for prepaid customers. If it's a BlackBerry you want, U.S. Cellular carries both the BlackBerry Curve 9330 ($30) and the BlackBerry Bold 9650 ($130). Android lovers can choose from the HTC Desire ($100), the LG Optimus U ($30), the LG Apex ($50), the Samsung Acclaim ($50), or the superb Samsung Mesmerize ($150). U.S. Cellular also carries the HTC Touch Pro 2 ($50) for those who prefer Windows Mobile. Plans: Prepaid plans with data start at $40 for 400 minutes and unlimited text and data. If you want unlimited talk you'll have to upgrade to the $70 unlimited everything plan. Coverage: U.S. Cellular's phones are reasonably priced, but the coverage area is relatively small and focused in the Midwestern United States. Virgin Mobile (Owned By Sprint) Phones: Virgin Mobile has only two prepaid smartphones: the Samsung Intercept ($250) and the BlackBerry Curve 8530 ($200). Plans: Virgin offers unlimited data and text on all its plans. The cheapest is $25 per month for 300 minutes all the way up to $60 for unlimited talk, text, and data (though BlackBerry users will have to pay an extra $10). Coverage: Virgin's coverage is most dense in the Eastern United States and parts of California and Texas. Notes: Virgin may be a good choice for people who are always texting and surfing the Web but don't want to pay a lot for voice service. Verizon Wireless Phones: Similar to U.S. Cellular, Verizon has a wealth of smartphone options for prepaid customers. BlackBerry users have both the BlackBerry Storm 2 9550 ($345) and BlackBerry Bold 9650 ($345), while WebOS users have the Palm Pixi Plus ($80) available to them. If you're determined to get a prepaid Android phone, you may want to go to Verizon. All of its Android phones (with the exception of the Droid 2 Global and the Motorola Devour) are available under prepaid plans. They will be more expensive than if you were to sign up for a two-year contract, but at least the option is there if you want it. Plans: Verizon is arguably the most expensive of the bunch, with plans starting at $65 for 450 minutes and unlimited texting all the way up to $95 for unlimited minutes and texts. Data is an extra $30 per month and is unlimited. Coverage: The Verizon Wireless network is national. Notes: If you're dying to get that Droid X, but don't want to be leashed into a contract for the next two years, going prepaid is a viable option. Each carrier has its share of pros and cons—Verizon, for example, was the most expensive but offered the most top of the line smartphones. U.S. Cellular has affordable phones and plans, but its coverage area was small. When researching prepaid plans and providers keep in mind your needs and wants, as well as coverage in your area. As we see prepaid carriers gain more and more features and more smartphones, going prepaid may begin to become the norm. |
| Facebook film "complete fiction": former president (Reuters) Posted: 23 Jan 2011 10:13 AM PST MUNICH, Germany (Reuters Life!) – Former Facebook president Sean Parker enjoyed the movie "The Social Network" in which he is played by Justin Timberlake, but called the plot "complete fiction." The film portrays Parker as a hard-partying, Machiavellian character who impresses a young Mark Zuckerberg by dating a Victoria's Secret model, and is eventually arrested for cocaine possession at a party to celebrate Facebook's millionth member. "It's a complete work of fiction," Parker told author Paulo Coelho at the DLD media conference in Munich, when asked how he had enjoyed the movie. "I kind of wish my life were that cool." "There are no Victoria's Secret models in Silicon Valley," he added. Parker co-founded peer-to-peer music-sharing service Napster -- which was eventually closed down by court order -- online address book Plaxo, and Facebook activism platform Causes. He is now a managing partner of San Francisco venture-capital firm The Founders Fund. The Social Network won three Golden Globe awards last week -- for best drama, best director David Fincher and best screenplay, by Aaron Sorkin -- and is tipped to sweep the board at the Oscars. (Reporting by Georgina Prodhan, editing by Paul Casciato) |
| China sports brand tries to break into US market (AP) Posted: 23 Jan 2011 07:40 PM PST BEIJING – Chinese athletic shoemaker Li-Ning knew it couldn't "out-Nike" Nike, especially in the sporting giant's own backyard. So the company is going low-budget edgy in its expansion to the U.S, using an irreverent YouTube video to play up its heritage while taking a lighthearted dig at the company name shared with its high-profile founder. Li-Ning is among the first Chinese consumer product brands trying to build a following in the U.S., seeking to grab a slice of its saturated but highly coveted market. As China's economic might increases — it last year overtook Japan as the second-biggest economy after the U.S. — its companies are increasingly confident about expansion overseas. But corporate China has yet to produce a brand with the global name recognition of the likes of Apple, Sony or Google. "It's a process of finding out — while staying true to our heritage, our brand — what side of our DNA is going to resonate with the American consumer," said Jay Li, general manager for Li-Ning International. "We're still searching, to be perfectly honest with you. And we're not in a hurry." Americans might remember Li Ning (pronounced lee-NING) as the final torchbearer during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics — the former gymnastics gold medalist who "ran" along the opening in the stadium roof while suspended by wires. His namesake company is a top domestic brand in China's lucrative athletic shoe and apparel industry, with more than 7,900 stores across the country. Though it has forecast slumping sales and a one percentage point decline in gross profit margin in 2011, CEO Zhang Zhiyong recently told the Wall Street Journal that Li-Ning plans to invest $10 million in U.S. operations this year. "Our founder Mr. Li Ning has always said his vision was never about building China's Nike, it's about building the world's Li-Ning," Li said. "You can't be global without having a legitimate claim of market share in the most mature sporting goods market." There are significant hurdles to overcome: Americans are still smarting from the recession and spending less. Chinese goods are widely regarded as shoddily made, knockoffs or even dangerous. Li-Ning's logo recently underwent a redesign, but many consumers may still see a strong resemblance with the Nike "swoosh." "The way to fight the perception is to continue rolling out your own world-class products and that perception will go away," Li said. He would not provide sales figures for the U.S., where Li-Ning products are sold online and through a few select retailers, but said international operations made up only 2 percent of the company's total revenue. Expansion into the U.S. is "important for them because if they show they have retail presence in the U.S. it helps them not only sell there but it helps them sell in their home market in China and wherever else they go," said Ben Cavender, associate principal at Shanghai-based China Market Research Group which has studied Li-Ning. "They can say, 'Look, we really are an international brand.'" The U.S. expansion began in earnest in 2007 with the opening of a R&D center and design studio in the Portland, Oregon, area, heart of the U.S. athletic shoe industry where Nike is headquartered and Adidas has a regional office. Li-Ning's U.S. staff includes about 30 people, veterans of companies like Nike, Adidas, Converse and Columbia. In comparison, more than 6,000 work at Nike's headquarters just outside town. Products sold in the U.S. include equipment and apparel for Asian-dominated sports like pingpong and badminton, niche areas where Li-Ning is an established leader. Its running shoes have debuted in specialty shops, with the aim of attracting avid runners who are concerned more about performance than brand name. But it's with street culture-influenced basketball shoes that Li-Ning may be able to score its breakthrough. Endorsement deals with NBA players like Shaquille O'Neal, Baron Davis and Evan Turner have so far been key to building awareness among image-conscious consumers. Li-Ning has a quality product but "we need to bring in the cool factor, the street legitimacy, the street cred. Bring all these elements together and fuse them into the product. It's a systemic project and we are working on it," Li said. That's the thinking behind the YouTube video, featuring a Chinese Li-Ning import agent who has to convince two suspicious U.S. customs officials that the new F2 sneaker is a real shoe. It is a humorous take on real events involving a shipment of F2s that got stuck in U.S. customs because of questions over how to declare the components of a shoe made almost entirely of rubber-like foam material. The YouTube import agent protests, "They're shoes! Li-Ning!" prompting one officer to snarl, "I'm Li-Ning toward kicking your ass!" Created by L.A. ad agency Zambezi, the video has received about 40,000 views since December and is a way of getting some attention with limited resources. There probably won't be a sequel — the Portland customs office called to complain about being in the video and Li's office pledged not to revisit the topic again. For now, Li-Ning's baby steps are showing encouraging results. Cavender pointed out that one industry insider has found some Li-Ning products to be better quality than Adidas products. And the colorful, sometimes cartoon-like designs are turning heads, even if they haven't yet translated into massive sales. "People are actively asking about it every time they walk in and see it," said Frank Pacifio, manager of a Champs Sports shoe store in Wayne, New Jersey, which sells two to 10 pairs of Li-Nings a week. In that time the store sells 10 to 25 pairs of its most popular shoe, the Nike Air Max 2010. "A lot of people try the (Li-Ning) shoe on to see how it feels but people are just accustomed to the Nikes, the Jordans," Pacifio said. "People are so used to what they've had, you never want to take the leap to the other side." Li remains confident, pointing to the mainstream acceptance of other Asian companies in the U.S. "A few brands are attempting it, but no one has come out as a dominant Chinese brand in any industry yet," he said. "I always optimistically look back on the Japanese brands in the '50s and '60s and the Korean brands in the '80s and '90s. It's our turn. We'll get there." ___ Online: |
| Newest economic indicator: companies buying iPads (AP) Posted: 23 Jan 2011 12:41 PM PST NEW YORK – The news last week that Apple's Steve Jobs is taking a leave of absence was a big story. But something else about the company got far less attention and could be even more important to investors this year. Corporations "are adding iPads to their approved device list at an amazing rate," Peter Oppenheimer, Apple Inc.'s chief financial officer, told analysts Tuesday. Apple's products, more known for their consumer appeal, are now used in by employees of Wells Fargo, Archer Daniels Midland, DuPont and others. Splurging on $500 iPads is a sign that the business cycle is starting to turn and that companies are starting to spend a record amount of cash they've accumulated. If the trend is real, companies will do what consumers haven't -- spark a strong economic recovery. That could push the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its third straight year of double-digit percentage gains. The last time that happened: the tech-boom days of the late 1990s. ""You're going to see a bigger commitment to growth this year because companies have underspent for quite some time," says Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Asset Management. Financial, technology and energy companies are the most likely to benefit from business spending, says David Bianco, a market strategist at Bank of America. Each group is up about 3 percent this year, nearly one percentage point ahead of the overall S&P 500. Those three groups account for nearly half of index's value. The continued success of financial, energy and technology stocks would point to a new stage of this bull market, which has returned nearly 100 percent since it began in March 2009. Consumer discretionary stocks, the group of hotels, retail stores and automakers that depend on consumer spending, outperformed the last two years after being left for dead during the 2008 financial crisis. Those companies are now lagging the market, suggesting that the bounce back from the lows of the recession is over. "Consumers don't have the income growth to sustain a more rapid pace of spending," says Jeffrey Kleintop, a market strategist at LPL Financial. Instead, he says, businesses spending will eventually lead to a pickup in the jobs market. Corporate spending on technology helped IBM Corp. beat analyst expectations last week. On Tuesday, IBM said that its 7 percent jump in revenue came in part from companies in the U.S. upgrading their computer systems. Its stock jumped almost 4 percent last week. Energy companies, meanwhile, are leading the market this year with a 3.4 percent jump because of higher demand, a sign of an improving economy. Oil company Schlumberger said Friday profit in the most recent quarter rose 31 percent. And financial companies are benefiting from loans to businesses, a signal that those companies plan to expand. JPMorgan said on its earnings call last week that it added 400 middle-market companies as new commercial loan customers. Bank of America said Friday that demand for business loans stabilized last quarter, while US Bancorp said Wednesday that all of its commercial loans divisions were improving, with the exception of real estate. Financial companies have the added benefit of being cheap. The price-to-earnings ratio of the financial companies in the S&P 500 index averages 11.6, about half of its historical average. Financial companies are cheaper than any other group except for health care, which costs 11.2 times earnings. Even utilities companies, whose slow growth rates typically make them the lowest priced group in the market, are trading at 13.6 times earnings. Is it too early to make a prediction that the biggest sectors of the market will continue to do well? After all, investor sentiment is at a level not seen since the market hit its all-time in 2007. That makes some contrarian investors nervous. The market should continue to rise if history repeats itself. Since 1970, the top performing industry groups in January have gone on to outperform the rest of the S&P index over the rest of the year nearly 75 percent of the time. |
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