Barclaycard and Orange plot NFC Christmas
But not saying how, or when Barclaycard has let slip plans to deploy NFC-enabled mobile phones, along with Orange, before the end of 2010.…What is your recession sales strategy?
Apple's online store brought the Merry into the 2009 Christmas season
Filed under: Retail, Apple, HolidaysIn some more bright, shiny, and happy Apple news for this first day of 2010, Computerworld is reporting that Apple's online store took top honors for customer satisfaction in terms of the holiday shopping experience at a computer or electronics manufacturer's site. The numbers from Michigan-based ForeSee Results showed Apple's satisfaction rate at 82%, four percentage points higher than those in 2008. The market research firm measures customer satisfaction by surveying more than 10,000 visitors to the top 40 retail Web sites as ranked by annual sales revenue. The two closest computer and electronics sites to Apple were Newegg.com and TigerDirect.com, posting scores of 81% and 80%. Dell and HP came in at 79% and 78%, respectively, while the least satisfying shopping experience was provided by Circuit City's Web site at 73%. While Apple led computer and electronics Web sites in terms of satisfaction, the company wasn't even in the same ballpark as Amazon.com. The online shopping giant grabbed a whopping 87% customer satisfaction rating in ForeSee's survey figures. Other companies that were ahead of Apple in the rankings were Netflix (86%) and QVC.com (83%). The ForeSee report also notes that the biggest retailers are getting both larger and better, at the expense of smaller online retailers. The big boys on the block can offer larger discounts, free shipping and better customer support that can't be matched by the small fry.TUAWApple's online store brought the Merry into the 2009 Christmas season originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 01 Jan 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Amazon.com - Apple - Circuit City - Netflix - Online shopping
Christmas stockings attract a Touch or two
An Apple under every tree Apple's iPod Touch was the Christmas gift of choice this year, if an apparent 1000 per cent jump in application sales in anything to judge by.…Offloading malware protection to the cloud
It's a Merry Christmas for AAPL shareholders, stock at all-time high
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple FinancialOn December 14th, I posted an opinion piece sharing my thoughts that AAPL stock would hit $300 a share in a year (for which I received quite a lot of critical feedback). Two days later, on December 16th, Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty issued a report stating she believes there is a 25% chance that AAPL will be between $325 and $435 in the next twelve months (she also believes it could fall to $150 if Google's Android takes off and Apple drops the ball). Huberty based her bullish outlook on the scenario that iPhone sales are on pace to capture 10-15% of the handset market by 2012 - and this doesn't even include soaring Mac sales or the impending iSlate. Well, the stock isn't at $325 yet, but on December 24th, AAPL did close at an all-time high of $209.04. Not bad considering on December 8th, the stock was down almost 8% on its previous high of $208 on November 16th. Christmas Eve's 3.4% one-day gain was driven primarily by the news that Apple has booked the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts for an event on January 26th. So, where does the stock go from here? Traditionally, there is an early-January slide for AAPL that coincides with the "buy on rumor, sell on news" MacWorld Expo event, but since MacWorld is going to be Apple-free from now on, who knows if that will happen this year. And even if the early January slide hits AAPL, the company has so much going for it besides the rumored iSlate, I'm beginning to think my $300 target is rather conservative. But that's the future. For now the $209 share price is a nice Christmas gift. Disclaimer: This author owns shares in AAPL. Opinions in this post are those of the author only and should not be considered as investment advice.TUAWIt's a Merry Christmas for AAPL shareholders, stock at all-time high originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Apple - IPhone - Google - TUAW - Christmas
Merry Christmas Eve: Evernote for iPhone gets a major update
Filed under: Software, iPhone, App StoreEvernote for iPhone [Free, iTunes Link] has received a major update to version 3.2.0, which went live late this evening in the App Store and should be arriving in App Store updates soon. According to our contacts at Evernote, the new app is much faster, with speed improvements in launching, searching, syncing, creating new notes, and browsing. As TUAW heard during a November interview with Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote, the updated app provides local caching and searching. Any note that is created or viewed on the iPhone is cached locally for viewing and searching, even when offline. Premium users can choose to have any or all of the notebooks they've created fully downloaded to their devices, once again enabling offline usability. Rich text notes can be converted to plain text for editing, and a copy of the original note is moved into the trash for future recovery. Other new features include: In-app purchase of premium accounts A new "sync" tab Ability to search while syncing Additional languages A number of bug fixes and improvements to the app A quick tour by the App Store on my iPhone this evening showed that the update was not yet available, but I was able to download the new version. For all Evernote users, this is a nice early Christmas present.TUAWMerry Christmas Eve: Evernote for iPhone gets a major update originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments AppStore - IPhone - Apple - TUAW - iTunes
Apple's 12 Days of Christmas iPhone app
Filed under: Freeware, Holidays, App StoreAs we reported last week, Apple is again rolling out their '12 Days of Christmas' promo for almost all of Europe. From December 26 to January 6 anyone with a iTunes account in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Finland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and Ireland can download a free song, music video, app, television show, or film from 'some of the biggest star performers' on iTunes. To help you remember to download the daily giveaway, Apple has created a '12 Days of Christmas' iPhone app [UK iTunes link]. It uses push notifications to alert you when the new download is available and also allows you to connect to Facebook and recommend the download to your friends. So if you live in Europe, get downloading! The promo starts December 26th, but the app is available now!TUAWApple's 12 Days of Christmas iPhone app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments AppStore - IPhone - Apple - iTunes - Facebook
Vodafone gives away internet over Christmas
But not all of it Vodafone UK is giving away internet access between Christmas and the new year, but only to those who have their APN set correctly.…Offloading malware protection to the cloud
Attention last-minute Christmas shoppers: try Express Shopping at the Apple Store
Filed under: Retail, Odds and endsAre you finished with your Christmas shopping? Like most people, there's probably not enough time in the day to work, hang out with the family and friends, and then actually do shopping. If you're missing the perfect gift for someone and you're getting down to the last few days, Apple wants to make your life easier. Apple has had an "Express Shopping" service since 2006 at the Apple Stores. They take a limited number of Apple products and keep them in a roped-off area. If you need to purchase a MacBook Pro, for example, you wander into the area and one of the Apple Store employees helps you to make your purchase and get you out the door as quickly as possible. This year, they're adding a new touch that is sure to bring Christmas cheer to hundreds of thousands of procrastinating shoppers throughout the world -- pre-wrapped presents available at the Express Shopping area of your Apple Store. Dan Frommer of The Business Insider noted in a post yesterday that this seemed to be preventing chaos at the Apple Store on Chicago's Michigan Avenue (yes, that is grass on the roof of the building). The wrapping leaves little doubt as to what you're giving, since there's an iPod nano-shaped gift tag with a gleaming Apple logo attached to each package. In following with ancient Christmas giving traditions, you can always hide the presents somewhere before handing them over to the lucky recipient. If you feel the need to take advantage of Apple's free express shipping or the new Express Shopping area, be sure to let us hear about how you procrastination problem gets solved in the comments below.TUAWAttention last-minute Christmas shoppers: try Express Shopping at the Apple Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments AppleStore - Apple - IpodNano - Unofficial Apple Weblog - TUAW
Green Christmas
A special seasonal message from Father Christmas
Internet campaign decides Christmas number one
Rage Against the Machine win the most gripping battle in years for the Christmas number one, beating X Factor winner Joe McElderry.