Made In Taiwan: As China’s growth slows, promising stocks lie across the Formosa Strait February 2, 2016 As China's earthquake rumbles on, the regional trading partners which have depended on its double digit growth for three decades are feeling the shocks. The Malaysian and Indonesian economies have suffered, but the manufacturing sectors in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are also inextricably tied to that of Asia’s largest economy. Exports account for 70 per [...]
Sony is in line for its biggest profit in eight years thanks to revenues from PlayStation Four and Spectre January 29, 2016 Strong PlayStation 4 (PS4) sales helped Sony to beat expectations in its third quarter results, for the three months ending December. The figures Sales in the three months to the end of December were ¥2.58 trillion (£14.9bn), up 0.5 per cent, and ahead of analysts' expectations of ¥2.53 trillion. Operating profits also beat expectations of ¥173.6bn, coming [...]
This is how much money Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter make every second January 28, 2016 Earnings season is upon us, and it's been a mixed bag: Facebook announced its revenues increased 51.7 per cent in the three months to the end of December, while Apple said its sales growth had slowed for the first time in a decade. It can be hard to keep track of it all, cutting through the hype [...]
These were the biggest selling smartphone brands of 2015: How Apple and Samsung’s growth was overtaken by Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi January 28, 2016 Three smartphone brands grew at a faster pace than Apple and Samsung last year as sales across the world hit a record 1.4bn. Chinese smartphone makers Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi grew more than the world's two biggest smartphone brands as shipments increased by 10 per cent across the board. The rise of device makers in China signals increasing [...]
Best UK companies to work for in 2016: Jaguar Land Rover, AstraZeneca and Harrods top the list January 14, 2016 Jaguar Land Rover, AstraZeneca and Harrods are the top three UK companies to work for, according to a ranking by Statista, which was compiled for Bloomberg. Other household names comprising the top 10 included Adidas, Dyson, Microsoft, Estee Lauder, Sky, Frankie and Benny's and Rolls-Royce. Those working in the professional services were most likely to recommend their employer, while employees in [...]
Deceptive demographics: Attitude matters more to marketers January 11, 2016 Here's a shocker for you. There are actually 19 year-old guys who watch Dance Moms, and 73 year-old women who watch Breaking Bad and Avengers,” Netflix’s Todd Yellin told the SxSW conference in Texas last year. Marketers have long recognised the limitations of segmenting consumers demographically. Finding out a customer’s age and gender data, Yellin argued, [...]
CES 2016 trends: Five things we learned from the biggest tech show on earth – from VR to voice controlled smart homes January 11, 2016 Unlike previous years, where much of the focus was on smartphones and tablets, the “bell of the ball” at this year’s CES in Las Vegas was virtual reality and the intelligent home. Virtual reality steps into the spotlight While virtual reality still has hurdles to overcome, including developing a sustainable content creation model and reliable way to monetise [...]
After CES, and with Google Cardboard paving the way, it’s time to start thinking seriously about virtual reality for business January 8, 2016 At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, much attention focused on virtual reality (VR). So if, as many now believe, this is the year VR’s dreams come true, what will it mean to you? The answer is plenty. Until recently, the unwieldiness and expense of VR technology limited its application. Google’s Cardboard launch 18 months [...]
CES 2016: The weirdest new gadgets from the CES consumer tech conference January 7, 2016 An activity tracker for your dog £39.99 – pitpatpet.com “What has your dog done today?” is the faintly accusatory tagline for this pooch-centric activity tracker. The PitPat attaches to your dog’s collar and sends live information about your canine friend’s movements to your phone. A built-in accelerometer monitors how often he’s running, walking, playing or [...]
Oculus Rift: March shipping date and price for UK and 20 countries revealed by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg January 6, 2016 Mark Zuckerberg has revealed Facebook's Oculus will ship its first virtual reality device on 28 March after becoming available for pre-order today. Tech fans will be able to get their hands on the headset in these 20 countries initially: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States. Shops will also stock Oculus from April and the company said it had [...]