ImaginativePRO Blog

VERIZON WIRELESS GAINS NEW SUBSCRIBERS, REVENUE GROWTH, LOSES CUSTOMER

Verizon Wireless' net new 1.1 million customers in the second quarter was less than the 1.4 million AT&T reported last week and the 1.2 million Verizon added in the first quarter. But the figure still represents a respectable gain -- especially when considering that Verizon lacks AT&T's not-so-secret weapon -- the iPhone.

In particular, the carrier's wireless data revenue continued strong growth, increasing 53% to $3.9 billion from a year ago. Data revenue now makes up almost 30% of Verizon Wireless' service revenue compared to 24% in the year-earlier period. What are subscribers doing to drive up non-voice services?

In the second quarter, Verizon customers sent or received nearly 146 billion text messages and more than 2.5 billion picture/video messages. They downloaded 40 million music tracks and videos during the quarter, up from 36.5 million a year ago.

While text messages and picture messaging was up from the prior quarter, however, video and music downloads dropped from 48.6 million in the first quarter, and from 50 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.

What caused the dip in music and video downloads over the last six months was unclear. It could be a seasonal decline, or it could signal some people have tried the services and aren't going back for more. In any case, it's a pattern that Verizon hopes will not continue in coming quarters as it focuses on growing wireless data revenue.

New findings in the Pew Research Center's study on wireless Internet use show that text messaging is by far still the most popular non-voice service. More than two-thirds (65%) of cell users have ever sent text messages and 43% do so on the average day.

By comparison, only 14% have ever watched a mobile video (up from 10% in 2007), and only 3% do so regularly. The share of people who have played music at least via mobile phone increased from 17% to 21% in the last two years. So it's still an uphill battle for Verizon and other wireless carriers to convince most subscribers to use their phones for things other than talking and texting.

Overall, Verizon Wireless reported that second-quarter revenue grew 27.7% to $15.5 billion, and total customers increased to 87.7 million.

COMMENTARY:  Recently I told Verizon to go take it and shove it,   I meant just that.  I am leaving them after ten years.  I have been loyal to them, and they have treated me like dirt.  Here's the story: I fought for and got a credit, but that credit won't appear on my phone bill for "two billing cycles".  What a bunch of conniving trickery that is.  They can bill me immediately, and most companies can issue an immediate credit, but not Verizon.  It takes them two months to give you the credit.  In the meantime, you have to pay the full of amount of the bill.  It is good bye to Verizon. 

Courtesy of an article dated July 28, 2009 appearing in MediaPost Publications' Online Media Daily

 

BANK OF AMERICA TO SHUT 600 BRANCHES DUE TO SURGE IN ONLINE BANKING

After two decades of aggressive expansion in the bricks-and-mortar side of its retail-banking business, Bank of America is reportedly set to close about 10% of its 6,100 nationwide branches as more and more consumers handle their banking needs online and with mobile devices rather than visiting their local branch. My only question is, why have they waited so long?

Given what's going on in so many other industries, the news about Bank of America almost seems like a yawner. In Manhattan's Union Square this past weekend, it was a bit of a jolt to stand in front of what had been the last remaining Virgin Records Megastore and not see floods of people pouring in and out, regardless of the time of day. The trendy neighborhood was jammed with young people, so the store's closing was clearly not due to bad neighborhood demographics or an isolated location.

No, it's much simpler than that: despite the "trendy and hip" nature of the store environment, the fundamental business model no longer fits the behavior pattern and preferences of a sufficient number of music-loving and music-purchasing consumers.

In the same way, more and more people are banking online and, particularly among younger adults, managing all of their financial affairs via mobile devices. Whether those young adults view what their doing as "banking" remains to be seen, but it's clear that strolling up to a teller for a check deposit that comes with the message that the bank will use your money for five days before giving it to you is an experience that growing numbers of consumers don't care to have.

Newspapers, the old-fashioned department stores, travel agencies – they're all either gone or are shells of what they used to be as the online world has rendered many of them increasingly irrelevant. So it shouldn't come as a surprise to see more and more large retail-banking companies announce similar cutbacks in their bricks-and-mortar businesses.

But in today's climate of increasing government regulation, and not so long after the U.S. financial system flirted with disaster, banks are perhaps understandably being extremely cautious about any changes in how they conduct their business. The news about the BofA branch closings, for example, did not come in an official statement from the company – rather, the Wall Street Journal reported that in a private meeting last week with some investors, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis mentioned the proposed branch cutbacks.

So while the industrywide cutback in physical locations might take a little longer than seems prudent, there's no question that online and mobile technology are inexorably doing to the retail-banking business what they've done earlier to so many other types of businesses: put more information and choice in the hands of consumers and pushed inefficient business models and distribution methods to the curb.

Courtesy of an article dated July 28, 2009 appearing in InformationWeek Global CIO Blog

BARNES & NOBLE MAKES WIFI FREE VIA AT&T

Barnes & Noble bookstores nationwide offer Wi-Fi access, and the majority of them are already hotspots through AT&T. Those stores now offer free access via Wi-Fi, with a focus on expanding customer awareness of the Barnes & Noble’s burgeoning e-book library.

Since its debut in 2005, AT&T access has been a subscription-based affair, but on Tuesday the two companies announced that AT&T Wi-Fi has gone complimentary. Users with laptops, Wi-Fi equipped smartphones and other wireless devices can now surf the Web in stores without having to set up an account or pay.

 

Barnes & Noble recently fired a shot across the bow of Amazon.com and its Kindle e-book reader, announcing its “eBookstore” and plans to release a dedicated e-book reader of its own, in development by Plastic Logic. While the eBookstore is only passively mentioned in Barnes & Noble’s press release, the move to make Wi-Fi available for free in all Barnes & Noble stores seems partly geared to build customer awareness of the new eBookstore, along with promotional content like bestseller lists, new releases, celebrity book signings and more.

 

The Barnes & Noble eBookstore launched with 700,000 titles. The number certainly seems impressive compared to Amazon.com’s Kindle inventory, measured at 300,000 volumes — but Barnes & Noble’s number includes 500,000 e-books which are free public-domain offerings from Google.

 

Given the current absence of a dedicated e-book reader, Barnes & Noble is offering its e-book inventory to Mac and PC users, iPhone and iPod touch users, and BlackBerry smartphone users, who access the e-Books through a dedicated “eReader” software application.

 

COMMENTARY:  Starbucks should take note.  Panera Bread also offers free WIFI including access to electrical plugs.  They also offer free samples of their pastries.  See my previous blog post regarding the incredible success of Panera Bread.  

 

Courtesty of an article dated July 28, 2009 appearing in MacWorld

 

 

 

STAPLES GOES UPSCALE, PARTNERS WITH OXO OFFICE GADGETS

The recession could challenge Staples' pricey new co-branded products from OXO, but the partnership may also set the retail chain apart

How's this for bad timing? Staples (SPLS) just introduced 25 co-branded office products from OXO Good Grips that cost up to five times more than Staples' own brand. The retailer's customers are in no mood to spend, however. Staples' same-store sales dropped 8% in North America in its most recent quarter. As Ronald L. Sargent, its chairman and chief executive officer noted recently, the chain is "in a very tough sales environment."

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Andrew Schneider, Staples' director of global brand management, concedes that the premium line fit better with consumer sentiment in 2007, when the company first approached OXO about a license and design deal. "It's not ideal launching in a sluggish vs. a strong economy," he says. But he says early indications are the new staplers, scissors, push-pin containers, and such are selling.

The exclusive arrangement may yield strategic gains as well, differentiating Staples from its main rivals: Office Depot (ODP), OfficeMax (OMX), and Wal-Mart Stores (WMT).

The Staples-OXO partnership is something more: It shows how companies can collaborate for mutual benefit and how to do that cheaply and quickly. As the recession forces businesses to reevaluate their priorities and spending, the development of the office products line could become a model for others.

OXO's Cult-Like Following

Staples began looking for new products that would draw customers to its 2,200 stores and Web site three years ago. Step 1 was internal research into brands that had hugely loyal fans. OXO was an obvious candidate, says Schneider, thanks to the cult-like following of its kitchen and household devices that are known for their ergonomic design. Staples also knew OXO's appeal from the OXO Good Grips products it carried, such as a $29.99 roller mop.

OXO's reaction? It snubbed the Framingham (Mass.)-based chain. "We didn't want to become the Pierre Cardin of the housewares or office-supply industries," explains OXO Chief Executive Alex Lee, referring to the fashion designer whose brand lost cachet in the 1970s and 1980s after allowing too many department stores to flood the market with licensed apparel.

Staples didn't give up. Its representatives showed Lee and his lieutenants a Staples in-house invention to prove the two companies were kindred spirits. The product was the "Better Binder," which allows users to open its rings with a one-finger mechanism vs. the traditional two-hand motion. The trigger made it possible for the very young or old or people with disabilities to use it. Lee reconsidered.

There were bottom-line considerations, too. Staples claims to have invented the office-products superstore in 1986 and today is the sector's leader with 2008 sales of $23.1 billion. A partnership would expose the OXO brand to a larger audience in a new category, giving the company, a 50-employee unit of Helen of Troy, a maker of personal-care products based in El Paso, Tex., potential for expansion.

Learning from "Pain Points"

OXO's long record of product innovation helped speed things along. Designers from Staples and OXO followed OXO's well-tested process of learning from user complaints. They gathered comments from reviews on staples.com on traditional hole punchers, pens, rulers, and other everyday desk items to see "people's 'pain points' when using office products," says Schneider

CALIFORNIA MAN SUES CLAIM JUMPER OVER CONDOM IN SOUP

SANTA ANA, Calif. (July  24, 2009) An Orange County, Calif., man filed a personal injury lawsuit this week against Claim Jumper Enterprises Inc., contending he found a used condom in his French onion soup at a Mission Viejo, Calif., unit of the chain.

In the lawsuit filed July 21 in California Superior Court for Orange County, Philip Hodousek and his wife Sherry are seeking damages from the April 12 incident, saying they have suffered distress and anxiety stemming from the fear of having contracted a sexually transmitted disease, as well as “loss of consortium.”

The case involving the 46-unit casual-dining chain is the latest of several product-tampering incidents at restaurants to make headlines in the past several years, including the well-publicized finger found in a bowl of Wendy’s chili and, more recently, a snake’s head found in a broccoli dish at T.G.I. Friday’s.

In a statement posted on the company’s website, Claim Jumper officials say they have found no evidence to support any of Hodousek’s claims. “We do not believe Mr. Hodousek’s lawsuit has any merit and will fight this allegation,” the company said.

The company’s own investigation, as well as one by an independent investigator, found no wrongdoing by employees, the company said.

The plaintiff had the object tested by an independent lab, and preliminary results found both male and female DNA, according to the lawsuit. Claim Jumper, however, said because Hodousek took the object with him when he left the restaurant that night, “we could not establish that this was the same object the lab received.”

Claim Jumper also noted that female employees voluntarily agreed to submit DNA to see if there was any match. The company asked Hodousek to also take a DNA test, the statement said, but he failed to appear for the appointment, then filed the lawsuit the next day.

The lawsuit, however, said that Claim Jumper failed to provide an observer for the DNA tests scheduled, so they could not be performed.

According to the Orange County Register, Hodousek owes nearly $300,000 in state and federal taxes and penalties, but he said the debt had nothing to do with the lawsuit. A spokeswoman for Claim Jumper said Hodousek’s confirmation of the debt to the newspaper “clearly points to his potential motive for claiming he found a foreign object in his food.”

Other chains also have found themselves involved in product-tampering incidents in recent years.

In May, the Carrollton, Texas-based parent to the T.G.I. Friday’s chain sought a criminal investigation into a customer’s claims that he found a severed snake’s head in his broccoli side dish after an independent lab determined the head had never been cooked.

Domino’s Pizza Inc. this week reported that a viral video earlier this year of employees doing what officials called “inappropriate handling of food” had an “abrupt and pretty measurable” impact on sales. The employees were fired and prosecuted, and the company collected $2 million in business disruption insurance.

In 2006, Anna Ayala was sentenced to nine years in prison on fraud charges after filing a lawsuit against Wendy’s claiming that she had found a severed finger in her chili, a lie that caused the chain to lose millions in revenue.

In 2004, a lawsuit filed against the seafood chain McCormick & Schmick’s was reportedly settled after an Orange County woman claimed to have found a condom in her clam chowder. Details of the settlement were not disclosed.

COMMENTARY:  "Hmmm good, Hmm good, everything tastes betta with Claim Jumpa soup"  Yuch, and it was used too.  

Courtesy of an article dated July 24, 2009 appearing in Nation's Restaurant News

HOTELS.COM TRADEMARK APPEAL DECLINED BY FEDERAL APPEALS COURT

A federal appeals court has ruled that the term "Hotels.com" can't be trademarked because "hotels" is too generic.

The hotel information and booking site Hotels.com had argued that even if the word "hotels" is generic, adding a dot-com to it resulted in a term that should be given trademark protection.

But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the federal circuit disagreed. "The generic term 'hotels' did not lose its generic character by placement in the domain name Hotels.Com," the court wrote in a decision issued Thursday. The ruling upheld an earlier determination by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Last year, that board said it was not persuaded by Hotels.com's evidence that consumers viewed the domain name as associated with the company. Hotels.com had presented a survey showing that 76% of 277 respondents viewed Hotels.com as a brand name.

But the board found fault with that study, concluding that "the survey design did not adequately reflect the difference between a brand name and a domain name," according to the appellate opinion.

Among other potential effects of the appellate ruling, it means that Hotels.com would likely have a difficult time suing when other companies use the term "hotels.com" to trigger ads on Google or other search engines.

On Friday, a Google search for "hotels.com" yielded pay-per-click ads for the site itself as well as Travelocity, Priceline and others.

Courtesy of an article dated July 24, 2009 appearing in MediaPost Publications' Online Media Daily

PALM STRIKES BACK AT APPLE OVER ITUNES BLOCKAGE

It's the high-tech equivalent of Spy v. Spy. A week after Apple blocked Palm Pre users from sync iTunes files to their phones in the latest version of the software, Palm struck back. In a post on the company's blog Thursday, the company said its updated webOS 1.1 operating system "re-enables" media sync.

"That's right -- you once again can have seamless access to your music, photos and videos from the current version of iTunes (8.2.1)," wrote John Traynor, Palm's vice president for business products, on the Official Palm Blog. The post mainly highlights new features for business users such as improvements to Exchange ActiveSync. But that's simply Palm burying the lead.

Apple had warned that the iTunes 8.2.1. update for the iPhone 3.0 software would not provide syncing capability for non-Apple media players. That move took aim at the Pre, which until then had been providing customers with the ability to get iTunes without having to buy the rival iPhone.

While specific numbers on Pre sales are hard to come by, both Palm and wireless partner Sprint have been pleased with results since the much-hyped smartphone was released in June. Edward Snyder, a wireless industry analyst with Charter Equity Research, last month estimated that 300,000 Pre units had been sold so far, and forecast that Palm will ship 1 million in its first full quarter of production.

Needless to say, Apple sees no reason to help Palm potentially sell more phones by making the Pre an iTunes-friendly device. The company may have assumed that Palm was backing down last week when it told customers that they could still transfer music through a USB connection or older iTunes software.

Now the question is how Apple will respond in this high-tech war of nerves. "My guess is that a technical step of some sort is most likely," suggested Jeremy Horwitz, editor in chief of iLounge, a blog focued on all things iPhone and iPod. "It's obvious that Palm's engineers are tweaking Apple in a very deliberate and provocative way, and it's unclear whether this is being done with some endgame in mind, or merely to continue to generate press for the Pre."

He added that legal action by Apple was unlikely because of the potential public relations and antitrust-related pitfalls it would involve. That doesn't mean Apple would not at least threaten litigation. In an unrelated matter, Microsoft recently changed one of the ads in its "Laptop Hunters" campaign to reflect lower pricing on Mac notebooks after hearing from Apple's lawyers.

COMMENTARY:  I am not an attorney, but Apple appears to be using its music download dominance, and henceforth "monopolistic" power to prevent other smartphone competitors from affecting its sales of the iPhone.  This is a direction violation of restraint of trade and/or equal protection laws.   What a dark and evil vulture Apple has turned into. Will somebody please notify the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. 

Courtesy of an article dated July 27, 2009 appearing in MediaPost Publications' Online Media Daily

VENTURE CAPITAL DISPATCH FOR MONDAY, JULY 27, 2009

For the latest venture capital news, advice, reports, fundings, mergers and acquisitions, marketing strategies, hot industry sectors, technology trends, profiles on people and companies, gossip and other interesting articles then VentureWire's Venture Capital Dispatch is your destination. This week's articles include:

• The Daily Start-Up: Curt Schilling’s Unfair Advantage Wearing Off
• Turning Out The Lights: Drug Developer Argolyn Bioscience
• What To Look For In A Venture Capital Firm
• The Daily Start-Up: Matrix Partners Makes Fund-Raising Look Easy
• Zappos CEO: Nobody Forced To Sell Zappos To Amazon
• Angels More In Tune With IPO Companies Than VCs, Study Says
• Do Internet Start-Ups Really Need Venture Capital?
• The Daily Start-Up: Sorting Through The Zappos Chatter
• Europe Falls Behind Silicon Valley In VC Deal Flow
• Zappos Not Exactly Another Dot-Com Triumph For Sequoia

ABOUT VENTURE CAPITAL DISPATCH:  Produced by the editors of Dow Jones VentureWire, Venture Capital Dispatch tracks the fast-moving developments at the intersection of high-tech innovation and venture capital finance. Featuring lead editor Scott Austin and the VentureWire reporting team in the Silicon Valley, New York, Boston and Shanghai tech centers, Venture Capital Dispatch provides insight into the newest start-ups and latest trends in venture capital investing. Write us at [email protected]. For more information on Dow Jones products covering venture capital and other financial markets, go to www.fis.dowjones.com.

US NAVY TO BUILD FIRST OF 'GERALD FORD' CLASS SUPERCARRIERS

When the Biggest is Just not Big Enough… The Ford Class Aircraft Carrier

Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman Newport News [NYSE: NOC]

The United States Navy is undoubtedly the largest and most powerful navy to ever exist. Likewise, the navy currently employs the largest warships ever built, the NIMITZ class aircraft carriers. In fact, the Nimitz class carriers dwarf other nations attempts at aircraft carriers by such a degree that they have been dubbed “super carriers“.

With the oldest carrier in the US fleet reaching it’s final years, the USS Enterprise will be replaced by, once again, the largest warship to have ever been built. Construction began this year on the USS Gerald R. Ford, which incorporates decades of naval research into the latest and greatest aircraft carrier design. The Ford Class aircraft carrier will launch its jets, including the newest naval jet the F-35 JSF, from electromagnetic catapults rather than steam catapults.

Likewise, the Ford Class carriers will have newer more integrated radar and electronic warfare measures, leaving room for future technology to incorporated into the design such as the yet developed but much hyped naval rail guns. In fact, the nuclear power plant, which houses 2 nuclear reactors, was redesigned to provide 2.5 times the electricity generated by the 2 nuclear reactors in the current Nimitz class aircraft carriers.

All in all, the US will retain it’s capability to conduct “gunboat diplomacy” well into the future. Perhaps certain countries will think twice about nuclear weapons when 2 of these aircraft carriers powered by nuclear reactors show up on their coast. Isn’t it ironic? I know that I wouldn’t want one of these bad boys parked in striking distance of my illegal nuclear weapons facilities.

The USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, Currently Deployed in the Persian Gulf: NOT BIG ENOUGH!! Trivia fact: The USS Enterprise is actually the aircraft carrier featured in the movie Top Gun.

COMMENTARY:  As a young petty officer in the U.S. Navy, I boarded the USS Enterprise and was in awe of her size, but with a compliment of 5,000 sailors and officers, would've hated to be onboard such a behemoth.

Courtesy of an article dated April 19, 2007 appearing in Future Weapon Technology

TOP 10 TROPHY WIVES LIST RELEASED (OLD DUDES MARRIED TO YOUNG CHICKS)

Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you a trophy wife if you’ve got enough to spare. Trophy wives can make an old guy look young, and an ugly guy look good. It’s no surprise, then, that men of power and influence have sought them out for years. In exchange for their beauty, trophy wives are given a lavish lifestyle, a fat spending allowance and a life of leisure.

Of course, not all trophy wives are empty vessels or with much older men. They are, however, the better-looking half. Just check out our top 10 trophy wives. Before you do, though, note that we excluded athletes' trophy wives because there are just way too many to choose from. We compiled a more diverse list instead.

Check out who made our list of top 10 trophy wives.

Number 10

Georgina Chapman m. Harvey Weinstein

No. 10 on our list of top 10 trophy wives. Georgina Chapman is a fit 32-year-old former model who is a codesigner for fashion label Marchesa, as well as an actress. Harvey Weinstein is an unfit 56-year-old who cofounded Miramax and Weinstein Co. film production companies, and is known to have a nasty temper. Next to Harvey Weinstein’s Shrek-like looks, Georgina Chapman looks like a modern-day Cinderella. Her professional credits include being a panelist on Project Runway plus bit parts in movies produced by -- you know who -- Mr. Weinstein. Does this mean a starring role is coming soon? All she has to do is ask.

Number 9

Coco m. Ice-T

With basketball-sized boobs, an Econoline-sized trunk and “model” on her resume, Nicole Austin, aka Coco, epitomizes the classic trophy wife. Twenty-one years younger than her husband Ice-T, Coco’s breakout appearance was her photo shoot for Smooth magazine. There she posed with little fabric to cover up -- fabric she’s since dropped completely for Playboy’s March 2008 issue. But before you think she’s merely a circus attraction, Coco claims she’s also working on a fitness DVD and a reality show with Ryan Seacrest. Whatever her next move is, you can bet a lot of eyes are watching.

Number 8

Paula Fortunato m. Sumner Redstone

She used to teach third grade in New York City. He ran Viacom, a global media company. She’s 44. He’s 83. Whether opposites attract or this was a play to recapture his youth, Sumner Redstone left his wife of 55 years and married Paula Fortunato in 2003. But rumor has it Paula Fortunato’s not staying a tight-lipped trophy wife. Apparently, she influenced Sumner Redstone’s decision to end Paramount Pictures’ 14-year relationship with Tom Cruise and his production company. The reason: She didn’t like Tom Cruise’s criticism of Brooke Shields for taking drugs for postpartum depression. Now if she can direct that anger to stop movies like The Eye from being made, we’d be eternally thankful. 

CLICK ON THE LINK LISTED BELOW TO READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE.

Courtesy of an article appearing in ASKMEN.COM