iPhone 5 pre-orders expected to begin this week at Best Buy (USA)
Amidst all rumours and discussions about Apple’s latest iphone, new reports claim that Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores will be taking pre-orders for the iPhone 5. The iPhone expected to be launched on 7th October in the USA, has garnered large amounts of speculation regarding its release date and mobile carriers.
According to sources, a recent leaked document suggests that the retail giant will begin taking the pre-orders for the iPhone later this week and will start selling them in the first week of October.
Best Buy, Clearwire launch 4G mobile broadband service (US)
Best Buy Connect has launched 4G mobile broadband connectivity service on an expanded selection of computing devices sold at Best Buy stores nationally.
The 4G service provides consumers with high-speed internet access on-the-go, with service activation, billing, hardware and connection support from Best Buy. The 4G service offering is available through a wholesale partnership with Clearwire.
Users can purchase Best Buy Connect 4G as mobile broadband option on 23 computing models from Asus, Dell, HP, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba at most Best Buy stores across the US. Initially, Best Buy Connect will offer unlimited 4G service for US$45 per month with a month-to-month or two-year contract.
With the purchase of a two-year contract, customers can waive the US$35 activation fee and receive up to an additional US$150 off select hardware devices.
Best Buy inks 4G wireless deal with Falcone’s LightSquared (US)
LightSquared Inc owned by billionaire Philip Falcone has signed a deal with Best Buy under which the retailer will offer 4G service via the LightSquared network.
According to LightSquared Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Ahuja, Best Buy’s Connect mobile-broadband service will begin testing LightSquared’s network in next year’s first quarter.
LightSquared is planning to compete with AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and Clearwire Corp. in selling its 4G wireless service that offers faster Internet browsing.
As per Ahuja, LightSquared plans to spend $14 billion on its network over the next eight years. Last month, the company announced $586 million in new funding from UBS AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. that will help its network build out.
According to LightSquared, it has agreements with five customers to provide wholesale 4G service, including two carriers, a national retailer, a device manufacturer and a website.
Motorola Mobility to launch Xoom tablet Wi-Fi edition in US
Motorola Mobility Holdings will be launching Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi edition tablet in the US on 27th March.
Xoom features a 10.1-inch widescreen HD tablet with Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), a 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM. It supports a Beta of Adobe Flash Player, 10.2 downloadable from Android Market, enabling the delivery of Flash based web content including videos, casual games and internet applications.
Motodev, Motorola’s developer support programme that enables tablet and smartphone features, enables Motorola Xoom to access more than 150,000 applications within the Android Market as well as the increasing number of applications optimized directly for the Android 3.0 OS.
Amazon.com, Best Buy, Costco, RadioShack, Sam’s Club (select locations), Staples and Walmart will be offering the tablet, through both online and retail store channels. In addition, the Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi will be available to commercial IT channels and regional retailers through a distribution agreement with business process services company Synnex, and regional carriers through mobile handset distributor Brightpoint. The MSRP for Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi with 32GB of memory will be US$599.
Best Buy to shut Turkey subsidiary, revamp Chinese operations (US)
Best Buy, US electronics and phone retailer, has announced that it is closing its Turkey subsidiary, revamping its Chinese operations and reviewing the operations in its home market.
The company also announced its plans to improve efficiencies in its U.S. supply chain operations.
Overall, the company estimates that these restructuring actions will result in annual pre-tax net savings of US$60 million to US$70 million once fully realized in fiscal 2013. The company expects these restructuring actions to result in charges during fiscal 2011 and 2012 totaling $225 million to $245 million.
According to Brian Dunn, CEO of Best Buy, they are pleased to continue their investments in the Best Buy Mobile and Five Star business models, which are profitable and have significant growth opportunities. The actions the company is taking are consistent with their strategy of driving businesses that have earned the right to additional capital while curtailing activities that they believe will not meet their return on investment thresholds.
The company is planning to open approximately 150 Best Buy Mobile stand-alone-stores in the USA in fiscal 2012. These openings would take the total Best Buy Mobile stand-alone-stores to approximately 325 in the U.S. at the end of the financial year.
The company is also planning to open approximately 6 to 8 large-format stores in the U.S., resulting in square footage growth of less than 1% (which is a significant reduction when compared to the average square footage growth rate of 5 percent during the last three years). The company also plans to open a total of approximately 18 Best Buy-branded large-format stores in Canada, United Kingdom and Mexico during fiscal 2012.
The company also plans to open 40 to 50 Five Star stores in the growing markets in China, taking it to approximately 210 stores at the end of fiscal 2012. However, it will close the nine Best Buy-branded stores in the country. The exit from the Turkey market includes closure of all current operations in the country, including the company’s two Best Buy large-format stores.
Shopping revolution is here- taste the new shopping experience with cell phones
British shoppers will soon receive discount offers from Starbucks and L’Or©al on their mobile phones, in the most determined use of new location-based wireless marketing technology outside of Japan.
Starbucks and L’Or©al are launching promotions on the UK’s O2 mobile phone network, owned by Spain’s Telef³nica via ‘geofencing’ system that directs text messages to customers when they are in the proximity of stores.
According to Ken Leitch, a spokesman for O2, there’s been talk for years in the advertising world about the possibility of location-based mobile phone marketing. But this is it, now. It’s a reality.
Starbucks will use the system not only around its UK stores, but also around grocery stores, sending numerical codes that can give the recipient 50 pence off its new Via instant coffee.
L’Or©al is using ‘geofences’ set up around Superdrug, the high street health and beauty retailer, to promote sales of its Elvive brand hair products.
According to Mr Leitch, other brands would join the service within coming weeks, which is available to about one million customers who have signed up promotions and offers from the carrier’s O2 More†service.
The system uses Global Satellite Positioning Technology developed by Placecast, a private US company. The company had previously launched brand-specific geofencing systems in the US for North Face, the outdoor clothing brand and retailer owned by VF Corp, and American Eagle, a youth clothing chain.
But O2′s base of about a million customers that have opted to receive messages is far larger than previous brand-specific efforts.
As per Alistair Goodman, Placecast’s chief executive, the company was setting up about 1,500 geofences across the UK for Starbucks and L’Or©al, giving marketers the ability to tie specific offers to specific locations should they choose, or to react to local weather conditions. The targeted locations would extend beyond the immediate vicinity of the stores. Expanding the size of the geofences a little is actually more effective . It’s about getting consumers who are in the mood to purchase, who are heading for the high street for their weekend shopping trip.
Its GPS-based service is now competing for attention from marketers with other location-based social networks, such as FourSquare, which can be used to offer promotions to customers who use their mobile phones to register their presence at retail locations.
In the US, several leading retailers, like Best Buy, Macy’s and Target, are now testing Shopkick, a system that uses a non-audible audio signal to send promotions to participating customers’ mobile phones when they enter a store.
Nokia Laptop (Booklet 3G) to sell for $299 in the US
Nokia’s Booklet3G, a Windows 7 based notebook computer will be sold in November through AT&T and Best Buy. It will be on offer for $299.99 with a 2 Year AT&T Data Connect plan.
PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sleek, strong Windows 7-based mini-laptop hits Best Buy stores for 299.99 USD in time for the holidays
New York, NY, USA – Drawing upon its rich heritage and leadership in the mobile industry, Nokia is opening a new chapter in mobility with the introduction of the Nokia Booklet 3G to the U.S. together with AT&T, Best Buy and Microsoft. Developed for connectivity just about anytime and virtually anywhere, the Nokia Booklet 3G is refining what consumers can expect at the crossroads of mobility and the personal computer.
“Nokia understands mobility like no other company and recognizes that the most ‘powerful’ device is the one that doesn’t have you running for the power plug or network point” said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, president and CEO of Nokia. “By combining the Booklet’s sleek design, impressive features and competitive price together with the new Windows 7 operating system from Microsoft, AT&T’s nationwide 3G coverage and Best Buy’s unmatched national retail footprint, we believe we have a winning combination for U.S. consumers” (more…)
P&G to advertise on Amp’d
LOS ANGELES (AdAge) — Mobile video this week took a big step closer to its potential as a key advertising vehicle with the announcement that the U.S.’ biggest ad spender, Procter & Gamble Co., signed up to advertise its Herbal Essences shampoo on Amp’d Mobile.
P&G’s wireless ad play could be a boon for the nascent mobile-marketing industry, whose executives feel it has the potential to offer marketers addressable ads.
Commercial breaks
Starting next month, P&G will run 15- and 30-second spots before and after programming on Amp’d Mobile video channels, such as Break TV, the History Channel, A&E, Biography and the Amp’d College Football Season Pass. Some Amp’d programming will be reformatted to allow for commercial breaks similar to those of TV programs, said Seth Cummings, Amp’d's senior VP-content development and programming.
Amp’d, a mobile company whose calls are placed through Verizon Wireless, has 50,000 subscribers but is expanding its distribution through Best Buy and other big-box retailers.
P&G’s wireless ad play could be a boon for the nascent mobile marketing industry, whose executives feel it has the potential to offer marketers addressable ads. In compliance with federal requirements, and without disclosing personal information about their subscribers, wireless service providers believe they can place ads on the mobile devices to target customers who opt to receive the ads.
Discounts to opt-in
Amp’d Mobile, which targets its service to 18- to 35-year-olds, is looking to offer discounts as early as next year to subscribers who opt to provide gender, age and home location, Mr. Cummings said. He said the popular Amp’d Overdrive package, at $20 per month, could be offered at a yet-to-be-determined discount to subscribers who opt to view advertising. In exchange, subscribers would sign up to receive mobile-video ads and also would grant permission for marketers to use that information to reach them.
“Addressability is the holy grail in brand advertising,” said Ujjal Kohli, CEO, Rhythm NewMedia, a company whose platform is serving the P&G campaign. “TV-style advertising running over TV-style content” is not only available but capable of “sending an appropriate ad an appropriate number of times to the right people.” Marketers also will be able to know how much of the video was viewed. “There’s no room for click fraud here,” he added.
P&G has been dipping its toe into mobile marketing, offering Herbal Essences ringtones in the past, and earlier this year launched a mobile-text-messaging program for Crest Whitening Plus Scope Extreme Toothpaste targeted to young club-goers. Its Interactive Marketing Innovation Consumer Solutions Program group, headed by Jean Berberich, is expected to roll out a number of other mobile-marketing programs this year for products such as Pampers.
Executives at P&G did not return calls seeking comment.
Mobile’s CPM rates
And in a sign of the kind of money mobile media could command, the deal, according to three executives familiar with the situation, was running at cost-per-thousand rates of $150 or more, considerably higher than web CPMs and the average $30 CPM for traditional broadcast prime time. Revenue is being shared among the carrier, the content publishers and intermediary companies handling the deals. Mr. Kohli said mobile TV’s CPM might decline over time, but right now the “demand far outstrips the supply.”
The jury is still out, however, as to whether there will be demand, particularly in relation to sensitive consumer concerns. Jonathan Sackett, senior VP-director of digital operations, Draft, said of mobile addressability: “As a marketer I love it,” but as a “consumer I don’t much care for it.”
Source: Adage
