Apple and Samsung strangle HTC

We all know that only the tough survive and will the weak merely just drift off. i sadly have to report once again on an a falling giant. Yes HTC self is suffering like our dear old friend Nokia. The company that was once known as the fifth biggest selling phone maker is being strangled by Apple and Samsung.

HTC has suffered a 79% crash in quarterly profits as the popularity and marketing muscle of Apple and Samsung continue to squeeze out smaller rivals. According to the analyst Pierre Ferragu at the broker Sanford C Bernstein "HTC is entering a vicious circle of market share loss and gross margin erosion that reflects continued loss of traction with consumers," said Ferragu in a note. "We see a market where Apple and Samsung fight hard in terms of commercial and marketing execution to defend their respective positions, with both providing aggressive launch support for their flagship phones and strong distribution support for older models. These distribution dynamics leave almost no room for HTC to remain visible in the market."

I think its time we accepted that when it comes to phones and all these other latest gadgets, Apple and Samsung have it all in the bag. They are only competing against themselves, its too bad that all these brands that we grew up with are slowly fading. reminds me of alcatel and erricson. these companies need to really work on their brand awareness, they use to household names but now people are slightly forgetting about them. come on guys lets get the old PR train working, its time to build brand awareness, get your name out there.

HTC has a slogan "quietly brillant" lets see your brillance and see how you get yourself out of this one.

techno-munchies

Nokia struggles to keep up

Only the best will survive, this is it, the race to the gritty finish has begun. in the forefront we have Mr jobs' all so expensive apple inc, right behind them we have samsung (could they copying?) not too far behind we have blackberry looking pretty week with their RIM issues BUT wait where is our dear old friend NOKIA?

The phone we all grew up loving and carrying is sadly falliung behind, with the rain of iPhones and blackeberry's Nokia is seeing really dark days. They had to cut their smartphone prices by 10% and in some cases 15%. Nokia has cut the price of the Lumia 800 by around 15% and the Lumia 900 by 10% in Europe. Early 2011, it bet its future on Microsoft's Windows Phone software. Windows accounts for only around 3% of global smartphones, while Google's Android platform controls two-thirds of sales and Apple has around a quarter.


Nokia smarphone

 Competitive pricing is considered crucial for Nokia to lure back customers, even though pricing does not seem to be an issue for rival Apple. In Belgium, for example, more than 10 000 people have pre-registered for the latest iPhone even before a local price has been set.

Some of the blame needs to be shifted to the PR department, the Marketing department and the Advertising department. how could they let the situation get so out of control? they needed to recognise their competition and work on ways to dig themselves out of this hole. They needed to be proactive and be innovative. What happened to finding out about brand awareness? They all took everything for granted and under estimated their competition. Its time they did some damage control and rectified their mistake, its time they got Nokia out there and carried on building their image.

HDTV in your pocket

your next smart phone could have the same resolution as your HDTV, believe you me its possible. as i was browsing the net and looking for the latest ridiculous invention, I stumbled across a little article that shocked the living daylights out of me.

Sharp will have a full production line producing full HD displays for smartphones. The 5-inch LCD screens will support 1920 x 1080 resolution, which is the highest found on HDTVs that are in stores today. This production is specifically designed for smartphones only. imagine being able to view absolutely everything on your phone in high definition. I for one wont even need to go to the TV room and watch TV.

Its amazing how technology is just streaming up high, its like with every wink some genius kid thinks of something better to bring to the table. I for one am truly grateful to all those nerdy kids because as a future prp i need to be able to market something. I need to be building the image of various brands, and whats life without a little bit of competition?

So I say I'm for the technology evolution, it sure will make my life way simpler. Taking pictures at an event will be simpler, taking videos will be a breeze, I might even be able to to cut costs and do my own photography.

techno-munchies

who needs the cinema nowadays?



Samsung's 3D TV

 I have been so focused on phones, iPads, tablets and cameras that I had completely forgotten about our dear old friend TV. I grew you when all we had at home was a 54 inch colour television screen that seemed like the best thing in the market. Since then there have been so many ,any upgrades and features that I didn't even think were remotely possible.

There are HD TV sets, 3D TVs, LCD's and now Samsung just released a 75 inch TV set. how big is that? with things like DSTV and TOP TV is there really a need for people to even visit the cinema's? Lets go back to this 75 inch TV set, this is what Samsung said "When consumers enter the premium TV market, they should not have to make any compromises when it comes to quality, functionality, features and sophisticated design,” this TV set has "interaction mode" is the purpose of a TV not to display movies and documentaries? why now do i have to "interact" with it? its not a child! it also come s in with a hidden HD camera, again the purpose of that is? I am beyond baffled by this.

samsung's 75 inch Tv

I further researched this because i was really curious about the price an the affordability of such TV sets. They go for about a good R30 000. The features are insane i agree, but its not really in everyone's budget. I wont lie I applaud 'Samsung for trying to move on after their iPhone dispute (information on previous blog), they are doing really well on the TV set side of business. the innovation is amazing, their marketing is even better, they lure a customer in. "Certainly Samsung are a leader in the TV market and this product is yet another way we are demonstrating our innovation, in bringing to market a TV that is highly premium, sophisticated and sets a benchmark for large screen TVs locally,” concludes Shaw. The going price for this 75 inch TV set is R109 000 how ridiculous is that? but I said it once I'll say it again, their marketing is completely amazing, they just made a simple TV set seem so sophisticated. I'm broke now but when i make my millions I'm getting one of these unnecessary TV's just for status.

catch u later techno fans

xoxo

Techno-munchies

Dump and go? not in South Africa

Do you ever wonder what happens to all those computers you company throws out, because they are out dated?  You know one day you are working with a Samsung PC and the next you walk in its a mac book?

Computers are considered outdated just after 3 months, something better, faster or more evolved always comes out, and disposing them is really expensive. So some companies usually cut cost and opt for the cheaper way out and just dump them recklessly. that is harmful to everyone, the environment, the people that live around that area and not to mention that company's reputation.

Illegal dumping of computers has been a huge problem in the IT world. Its like our own HI virus, it has no cure and its spreading like wildfire. I'm proud to report that we too have our own ARV's and we have great means to combating this "pandemic". South Africa is very strict when it comes to the illegal dumping of computers, they have companies like NSW government to help insure that such things are kept under control.

This is a classic case of proactivity, prevention before a disaster happens. South Africa has done an excellent job making sure such companies are available, not to mention the PRP's. They have well marketed the company, they are easy to find on the internet  and very informative. So I say keep it up SA, let the world follow in our footsteps for once.

xoxo
Techno-munchies

To "like" or to "tweet"?

I played around with this idea for a good hour, I really wasn't sure if this fall under the technology category. So after a great deal of going back and forth I decided that this will be placed under software technology, I mean who doesn't want to talk about social media? It is a growing trend.

The boxing gloves are off and it's time for yet another battle to commence. Its safe to say that facebook has way more experience, it has been around for a few years now. It was launched in February 2004 and has been growing ever since. According to weikipedia Facebook has more than 23 million users and that's in the USA alone. http://www.socialbakers.com says that Facebook has about 800 million users globally, that's a really big number.  facebook is like the Russian mafia of social media, the reconnecting people and sharing your life with others is a charming appeal.

Now it wouldn't be fair if i gave u all these glorious statistics about Facebook and none about Twitter, the new "chick" on the block. Twitter came in a few years after Facebook, the year 2006 to be exact. It is seen as microblooging and a new way to make yourself feel like a celebrity, it creates a more intimate feel and a more open platform for all users. Twitter is said to have 465 million users http://thesocialskinny.com, it's a slowly growing social network.
 

USA facebook vs Twitter stats

 These statistics show how Twitter is growing and how Facebook is sadly decreasing annually. The question should be what is Twitter doing right that Facebook isn't? Is Twitter's communication department that strong that it has really managed to sell their "company's" brand so much? Or is it because people have just discovered this trend and they are just crazy about it?

Personally i have almost deleted my Facebook account countless times, if i wasn't doing PR and I knew that Facebook wouldn't come in handy in the future. trust me i would have been long gone and flew to Twitterville, its just simpler and manageable .

so for you techno- fans this is what I ask, in terms of communication, what could facebook do to bring up their stats? Yes I'm talking media activities or even PR activities if you may ... Lets get our thinking caps on.

XoXo
Techno-munchies

COMPUTERS

It took a long while for me to actually realise or rather take note of how fortunate I am. Truth is many of us are blessed to be able to have basic computer skills, the fact that we can operate windows and various programmes at great ease, gives us such an advantage in the work place. What then happens to those that can't even go on google? how will they survive in this cruel world of ours?

It is easy to take for granted things that have been in your environment for as long as you can remember. I then took it upon me to search for statistics about this situation in South Africa, I really wanted to know how bad the numbers were and if anyone is doing something to close the gap. I found various programmes that are helping in this cause, programmes like:

• Computers for kids
• Volunteer Africa
• Generation joy

I guess its safe to say that there are people out there that are making a change in this country. I challenge the big shot companies of this country to make this their Corporate Social Investment.

XoXo
Techno- munchies

vinyls and Iphones

 Dear techno fans

Let's talk music, iphones and turntables... So through my desk to research I found some rather interesting inventions on www.cool-gadgets.com. Anyway back to the cool thing I found its called an iLP turntable. It sends vinyl music straight to your iPhone, iPad or iPod. All u need to do is put your vinyl on the turntable, spin it, connect your iPhone then press record. The iLP does everything else.

I just wish such inventions were made more accessible to the general public, what happened to advertising? companies should stop cutting costs and give public relations and marketing a chance. How else would the product sell if it does not have the necessary marketing?

Xoxo techno- munchies

The heavyweights battle it out... Samsung VS Apple

What is said to be the battle of the century in the technology world is about to commence... tring tring tring let round one begin.

Apple has sent our dear old friend Samsang to court, claiming that their smartphones and tablet computers are copies of the iPhone and iPad, all our poor Apple wants is for U.S to ban all sales of the  product. Clearly that will send Samssung to a staggering downfall in the market place, But should Apple be not be successful then, well they are at the receiving end of a very hurtful hand.

What does this mean on a communication point of view? sure both companies are recieving incredible publicity and they're names are more then household names now. what then happens to Samsung's credibility and reputation? you judge for yourself folks ...

xoxo
techno- munchies

Buffalo technology..."just a touch of a button"

"Wireless technology at the touch of a button", is what is being sold to us. The dream, idea or perception of a stress free, and user friendly communication. Wireless technology has been around for a few years now, but there has always been the tedious task of setting things up and securing the connection. I recently came across something called the Buffalo technology, it allows you yo have a secure connection with... yes you guess it, "just a touch if a button". Its called the Airstation one-touch secure system.



airstation one-touch secure system



In this day and age we live in a fast paced environment where everything is quick and easy, but this is where I actually start to wonder if we even learn anything at all? before things were of a manual nature, granted it was extremely strenuous but people actually came out of it with some knowledge of what they were doing. It broadened ones mind. Nowadays people don't even bother to look at the instruction manual. one might as well hide their money in one for no one will ever bother to open it. What message are we sending to the next generation? yes technology is bound to evolve and yes things are suppose to get easier but at what cost?

click to see the video

xoxo techno-munchies

Lets take a step back in time

Remember the days of record players? before the DVD's, video cassette players and usb cords infected our world. The time where sitting outside cleaning your record before taking it out for a spin was the coolest, most relaxing thing ever?

With the evolution of so many neat gadgets, our records have been boxed away and left to gather dust. I for one sure do miss the scratching sound old the needle against the vinyl, or the old  squeaky sound your record machine use to make. Yes, I know this is about 20 years before my time, but can I say I'm a vintage girl through and through.

So here I am stuck with a box filled with with old classics, but no machine, the old thing finally packed up and gave away. I'm not a Dj so I have no equipment, I don't know any Dj's so that idea flies out the window as quickly as it came in. I sure don't have the space or time to invest in a new record player. So just as I was about to give in and pack away my price collection, a friend of mine told me abut the soundwagon. I sat there hanging on to her every word she said about this great discovery of hers. The soundwagon is a licenced, yes licenced Volkswagen van record player, that fits into your pocket. It has a player needle that is powered by a 9 volt battery, all one does is place the VW van on top of any 33 1/3 rmp vinyl record and let her go for a spin... literally.

Talk about bringing records back with a very high note. Lets take this new baby for a ride around town.















xoxo techno-munchies

Blackeberry:" laugh with them, not at them"

One of the techniques of good public relations is issue management. that is the ability to be reactive after something has happened to alter the perception of the corporate identity of a company.

Blackberry launched a campaign that would help them gain their customers back after RIM failed to deliver network for 3 days, to all blackberry users in the year 2011. The campaign was set to make fun of RIM by getting customers to send  funny messages to their friends, and should they not respond within five minutes then they win $100.

This campaign was a great way for blackberry to gain new relationships, while still maintaining the ones they have. they took a situation where most people were loosing faith in the company's ability and turned it into something almost everyone likes doing...laughing. The campaign even went so far as to have a website with a branded sketch called bbm roulette.

This laugh a minute campaign might work, but for how long? Yes people will make fun of RIM's slow service delivery and yes they might get money from doing so. BUT what happens when people get home and they still have teh same problems? RIM still has network providing issues and no amount of money thowing can change that.It simply needs to be fixed!

The evolution of wireless networks

Last year Ericsson executives announced that they wil be bringing 4G network to South Africa. that would mean the beginning of a whole new era for the wireless network industry in the land. South africa would then be seen as the first country in africa to have such an evolution, once again its seen as the leader of a very big pack.


4G technology is wireless network that uses LTE( long-term evoolution) network, it has high speed connectivity and it simplifies mobility and access to broadband wireless internet www.4gtech.co.za. According to Lars Linden, head of Ericsson in sub-saharan Africa, "the technology will intially be rolled out in hotspts or areas with very high demand for high speed connectivity". one can only imagine the convienience that this technology will bring, the 3g network is already such great help and is fairly fast, imagine now something that is faster than it. This will be much more simpler for the common smartphone user.

"There are different types of wireless networks defined on the basis of their size, range and data transfer rate.

·         Wireless PAN - Personal area network Wireless Personal Area Networks

·         Wireless LAN - Local Area Network

·         Wireless MAN - Metropolitan Area Networks

·         Wireless WAN- Wide Area Networks

·         Mobile devices networks

 

Mobile networks have evolved tremendously in last 3 decades. Cellular concept was introduced with 1G (‘G’ stands for generation) networks. Today, 4G technology is getting ready to storm the markets. Not only that, research on 5G technology has already begun." http://www.engineersgarage.com/articles/4G-technology

The sunday times live reported that the 4G technology will be launched in South Africa in 2012. The launch of this network shows the growth of South Africa as a country and the mark it has made in rest of the globe. A great deal of events have shaped South Africa and therefore made it an even stronger country altogether.

xoxo techno-munchies

Snap Snap

Let's talk camera's.. Today I felt like getting a little technical on all you techno- munchies followers, yes it's time we all got a little educated.

Did you guys know that the first camera was invented by Alhazen a great authority in optics, in 1000AD, it was called camera obscura (pinhole camera) www.inventors.About.com? I myself had absolutely no idea that it dates back so far. I then carried on researching and found out that in 1827 Joseph Nicephone was the first to make a photographic image with camera obscura.

Centuries later and technology just keeps evolving. Ubi-camera is the latest invention in the world of photography, its taken taking pictures to a whole new level. Gone are the days where you need a huge mechanical object to take pictures. The ubi-camera is an invention by a research group at the institute of advance media arts and sciences. This is a miniture camera that is placed on ones fingertips and one is able to take pictures just by shaping your thumb and index finger into a L shape www.coolestgadets.com. This gadget takes pictures according to how you frame your fingers. It's like reliving your childhood once more where taking  picture was merely through imagination and the touch of your fngers.

Xoxo techno-munchies
 

Nokia strikes back.... or do they?

As I was browsing the internet, searching for the latest technology invention or rather upgrade, came across the Nokia Lumia 800 that was launched 6 months ago.

6 MONTHS AGO! One can only imagine my surprise, what happened to advertising or plain old marketing? why I know about this? I then felt obliged to ask my classmates if they've heard about such an upgrade, and as I had presumed they had no idea. I was not the only one with her head buried in the sand. I had to take a moment to digest this sudden in take of information, I decided to had straight to the I.T nerds of U.J and find out if they knew anything bout this. I did not even finish my sentence before they started correcting me and giving me more detailed information about this software. I was gobsmacked. Is it a thing of if you are not a I.T geek then you don't know about this? what is going on with nokia's communication strategy?

To educate those of you who like me have no clue what the Nokia Lumia 800 is. "It is a windows powered smart-phone, it uses microsoft mobile operating system" www.coolest-gadgets.com. It also brings along improvements on battery performance and power mnagement. With the amount of social networking people do nowadays, I guess thats a vital feature. "It also has an 8 megapixel camera and internet explorer 9, wich makes internet browsing faster" www.nokia.com.

I couldn't possibly leave it at that, I was itching for more information, so I went to our dear old wikipedia, "the Lumia 800 comes with 4 Nokia exclusive applications, Nokia drive, turn-by-turn navigation system, Nokia maps and app highlights. it also won editors choice award of 2011 what mobile magazine"

I sure do hope that next time Nokia advertises their inventions to the general public not just the geeks.

Xoxo techno-munchies

The competitors attack

It is that time of the month where all malls are decorated with different bright coloured stands, where one hears a powerful scream from the far side of the mall by a kid wanting to get her way. Where one walks hitting peoples shoulder just to make way for the next person. Yes ladies and gentlemen I am talking about month end.

I visited the local mall the other day and I realised that the best way to advertise something or rather promote something is during month end.  It is the only time when you can be that little devil in their ears tempting them to bend their budget here and there...  So as I was walking with my sister hoping that she might pity and old soul and get me something, BAM in the middle of the mall I see this huge marque by Sony Ericsson. and as I was admiring this spectacular display of phones, I turn to my right and Samsung is also promoting their latest gadget the galaxy tab. I felt like a kid in a candy store, I just didn't know which way to look. I was bombarded by gadgets and blinded by the shinning lights. Everything around me was screaming by me or simply touch me, I couldn't go to the samsung stand without feeling like I am betraying Sony Ericsson, I just stood in the middle like a lost puppy, trying to decide which one had the better deal.

 

The Samsung stand bright in blue and white colors and lights had a variety of tablets at display, they had:

• Galaxy Tab P6200
• Galaxy Tab P7300
• Galaxy Tab P7500
• Galaxy Tab P1000

The Sony Ericsson on the other hand hand their promoters dressed in green and grey and their marque just the same, they were promoting their range of Xperia phones.

• Xperia neo V
• Xperia active (which is water resistant and dustproof)
• Xperia mini

You can just imagine my predicament, but i finally decided to rather spend 25 minutes on each marque, therefore i don't end up feeling too bad about it. I must commend both companies though, their ability to attract customers and sustain relationships was definitely on point.




Samsung Galaxy Tab P1000









 Sony Ericsson Xperia  neo V

xoxo techno- munchies