Apple Watch reviews: What the critics think April 8, 2015 The Apple Watch is available for pre-launch tomorrow and the first reviews are in. Here's what the tech journalists who were lucky enough to get their hands on the new device early made of it. Nilay Patel, The Verge “[The Apple Watch] is one of the most ambitious products I’ve ever seen; it [...]
Apple Watch beware: Switzerland is unleashing a wave of smart tech at the high end April 8, 2015 “An expensive watch is a piece of art, part of eternity,” professed LVMH’s bumptious watch chief and erstwhile industry spokesman Jean-Claude Biver on CNN in February. “Because,” he explained, “a watch that is made by hand can be repaired in a thousand years. A technological watch will be obsolete in probably five.” That may be, [...]
Apple just muscled ahead of Samsung on … EE’s Wi-Fi Calling April 8, 2015 Is this the latest installment in the high-stakes world of smartphone politics? Smartphone rivalry between Apple and Samsung has been simmering for years, spanning different continents, and even a few court cases. And in a further sign it won't be dying down anytime soon Apple has beaten its rival to … being able to say [...]
Samsung profit decline to moderate in first quarter ahead of Galaxy S6 launch April 7, 2015 The figures Operating profit at the Korean electronics firm is expected to be 5.9tn won (£4bn) for the quarter to the end of March – down 31 per cent on the same quarter last year, but a more moderate decline than expected. It remains the sixth consecutive quarterly decline for the firm. But sales for [...]
How to unlock creativity as a driver of success April 6, 2015 Most business people are clear that creativity is an essential driver of success. Companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Virgin, Tesla, and Uber set the standard that others aspire to achieve. Regular surveys of business leaders rate creativity as the most important characteristic their organisation needs to show. There’s very little disagreement: creativity is [...]
Why hiring chief executives externally is better for struggling businesses April 2, 2015 It's an age-old argument: when a leader steps down, do you promote from within or bring in fresh blood? Each brings their own benefits – one has a fresh view on business and new ways of working, while the other already has a deep understanding of a company's strengths and weaknesses. Now we might have [...]
Think smarter: Check out these terribly clever timepieces April 2, 2015 It’s not just a certain company based in Cupertino that’s innovating in the watch world… The launch of the Apple Watch the other week highlighted the growing need for a women’s watch that does more than just tell the time. With adverts in US Vogue – 12 pages at an estimated $2.2m no less – [...]
Time to get smart: Traditional watchmakers are striking back against the Apple Watch April 2, 2015 With the Apple Watch set to shake up the watch market, Switzerland’s established brands are rushing to release their own takes on wearable tech. Last month’s Baselworld watch fair saw a slew of these, including this model from Breitling. Rather than text messages and activity tracking, the B55 enables you to perform adjustments – timezones, [...]
How Veronique Laury plans to create the Apple of DIY – Bottom Line March 31, 2015 If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”. Kingfisher’s new chief executive Veronique Laury dusted off her dictionary of quotations yesterday, picking this one from Henry Ford to make the tenuous link that just as Ford gave middle-class Americans a car, the DIY chain will give consumers “what they [...]
City Moves for 01 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs March 31, 2015 Investec Jane Warren has been appointed head of digital in the UK in Investec’s wealth management and investment services business. She started her career in financial services in 1987, and joined the Investec Group (then Carr Sheppards Crosthwaite) in 1994. Warren has subsequently served as head of CSC’s third party administration business, and head of [...]