Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Kiss and make up - Him & Her - BBC
BBCWorldwide 7/6/2013:Are we running out of Helium? - Bang Goes The Theory - BBC
BBCWorldwide 5/6/2013:Lord Coe and the Brazilian delegation - Twenty Twelve - BBC
BBCWorldwide 31/5/2013:Just apologize! - Him & Her - BBC
BBCWorldwide 17/5/2013:Dan's new "Girlfriend" - Him & Her - BBC
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Stars Arrive Ahead of BET Awards
ShowBiz Min: BET, Cirque Du Soleil, Box Office
Monday, July 1, 2013
Apple Inc.’s newest TV commercials flop with viewers
SAN FRANCISCO – Apple Inc.’s newest TV commercials, showing consumers enjoying its products while an actor reads the company’s corporate philosophy, are a flop compared with earlier ads from the maker of iPhones and iPads.
The company’s latest ad, which began airing June 10, has earned the lowest score of 26 Apple TV ads in the past year, according to Ace Metrix Inc., a consulting firm that analyzes the effectiveness of TV ads through surveys of at least 500 TV viewers.
The ad scored 489 on the company’s scoring system, below an industry average of 542 and far below past iconic Apple campaigns that often topped 700.
The 60-second commercial, which shows kids in school with iPads as a voice declares the company’s product-design goals, underlines a strategic advertising shift at Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple. The company is moving away from upbeat ads promoting product features toward ones that identify it as a reliable provider of products that combine quality, innovation and utility.
“Apple was never a company that bragged about itself,” said Edward Boches, a professor of advertising at Boston University. “In a manifesto ad, it’s hard not to come across as self indulgent. And even though it suggests the wonderful things Apple products can do, the ad lacks joy.”
The change in tack started earlier this year, with similar ads that highlighted the iPhone’s status as a popular camera and music player. These ads, which show contemplative montages of people using iPhones in their daily rounds, also fared poorly by Apple’s standards on Ace Metrix’s scale, with scores of 560 and 537, respectively.
Apple had intended for the ads to energize its customers and slow market share gains by Samsung Electronics while it prepares new versions of the iPhone and iPad, people with knowledge of the matter said earlier this month. Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman at Apple, declined to comment.
Apple’s new ad, dubbed “Designed by Apple in California,” scored a 528 on “Information,” versus a hardware-industry average of 603. A recent ad for Samsung’s new Galaxy S4 phone that showed features such as the ability to answer a call without touching the screen scored a 757 by that same measure.
Since May, Samsung has had eight ads that scored an average of over 600, according to Ace Metrix.
Apple’s new ad scored poorly with male viewers, particularly those over 21 years old, though it fared better with women. Some viewers described the music as “sad.” Boches, the BU professor, said the final seconds of the ad may strike some viewers as inappropriately political. The words “Designed by Apple in California” appear as the voice says, “This is our signature, and it means everything.”
“Is this a subtle way of saying we’re not a Korean company? That’s not the way a leader like Apple should talk,” said Boches, who also described himself as a “huge fan” of Apple.
Goodbye, Google Reader. Here are 5 alternatives
On Monday, fans of Google's popular Reader application will bid farewell.
Google shuts down Reader on July 1, citing a drop in usage and a shift toward a smaller selection of Google services.
If you're a Google Reader user, now's the time to export your subscriptions. Users can do this by going to Settings, Import/Export and follow the steps to export your subscriptions through Google Takeout, which will download to a computer in a ZIP folder. Most RSS readers will let you import subscriptions (saved as an XML file) easily.
Since Google announced Reader's demise in March, several other options have emerged to potentially fulfill your RSS needs. Here are five alternatives to consider.
Feedly. As of right now, this is the best option in a Google Reader free world. It's flexible, so users can opt for the traditional Google Reader list appearance, or go for a more dynamic magazine view. Feedly also offers the best selection of sharing options, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Pocket, Instapaper and Evernote. Users can click a Save For Later bookmark as well for reading directly on the app. The service works great as a browser extension on Chrome, Firefox or Safari (and standalone Web client), and features a native app for Apple's iOS and Google's Android.
The Old Reader. For those users seeking just the basics, The Old Reader is a strong choice. Designed to look very similar to Google Reader, The Old Reader is simple and easy to use. Importing and adding feeds is easy, but it seems sharing is limited to the service. So, it's tough to directly share to social networks. But for users who want feeds on the go, Old Reader will work with the iOS app Feeddler.
Flipboard. The mobile app for iOS and Android opts for a more visual approach to story syndication, presenting feeds in a magazine-style format. Along with RSS feeds, users can add updates from social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, "flipping" pages with simple swipes on the touchscreen. Simiilar to notetaking app Evernote, Flipboard allows users to clip content from the Web to display in a digital magazine for their mobile devices. The big drawback to Flipboard is users can't read their feeds on a desktop or laptop. It's for smartphones and tablets only.
AOL Reader. One of two new entrants into the RSS reader market, AOL Reader has promise. Several views are available, from a traditional list to a pane view similar to the Microsoft Outlook email client. Users can share stories to Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn, as well as star items for later reading. However, I couldn't find any options for saving to offline services such as Pocket. Also, feeds didn't seem to update as quickly as other options, but that should improve over time. A native Android and iOS app is coming soon, the reader still functions nicely on a mobile browser. Among other options AOL plans to add soon: Search, Notifications and sharing with other AOL Reader users.
Digg Reader. It's only 24 hours old, but the newest RSS reader from Digg is a clean, simple choice. Sharing is limited to Twitter and Facebook, but users can set up connections to Pocket, Instapaper or Readability to view content later. Users can "Digg" stories, which bolsters a cool Popular section that breaks down the most popular stories appearing on your RSS. There are some important functions missing, such as "Mark as Unread" and "View Unread Items Only" options, but Digg says they plan to add those features quickly.
Readers, have you made the switch from Google Reader? What do you use?
Apple seeks 'iWatch' trademark in Japan
Apple has filed to trademark the phrase "iWatch" in Japan, amid rumors the company will soon launch a smart watch device globally.
The trademark application was filed with the Japan Patent Office on June 3 for a wide range of product categories, including "computer," "computer peripheral," "GPS device," and "voice recognition software." The application was made public June 27, and is still being reviewed by the office, a process that can take months.
The application was filed for the phrase in Roman letters, which Apple uses for most of its product lines in Japan, as opposed to Japanese characters.
A spokesman for Apple could not immediately be reached for comment.
Earlier this month, a Russian news site reported that Apple filed for the "iWatch" trademark in that country. Several patents in the U.S., including one for a curved battery and another for a flexible display that be used in a flat or curved state, and news reports indicate Apple is working on a watch-like device.
Last week Sony announced the latest version of its SmartWatch, a water-resistant device with NFC. The Sony watch acts mainly as a peripheral for a smartphone, syncing via Bluetooth and showing alerts for services like Facebook, Twitter and email. It also can download scaled down versions of apps and customized watch faces.
Samsung has also said it is working on a smart watch, and a number of smaller startups such as Pebble have launched programmable watches.
Nokia Buys Out Siemens in Equipment Venture for $2.2 Billion (3)
The Nokia Siemens Networks headquarters stands in Espoo, Finland. Photographer: Vesa Moilanen/AFP/Getty Images
Nokia Oyj (NOK1V) agreed to buy Siemens AG (SIE)’s share in a six-year venture for 1.7 billion euros ($2.2 billion), giving the Finnish company full access to the phone-equipment maker’s cashflow for a less-than-estimated price.
Nokia will pay 1.2 billion euros for Siemens’s 50 percent stake in Nokia Siemens Networks, with the remainder as a secured loan from Siemens due a year after the deal is completed, the companies said today. Nokia doesn’t plan to integrate Nokia Siemens and may still decide to seek partners, Chief Executive Officer Stephen Elop said on a conference call.
The Finnish handset maker fighting to come back in the smartphone industry jumped as much as 10 percent in Helsinki trading. The purchase price values the venture, which became profitable last year, at 3.4 billion euros, less than at least 5 billion euros projected by Hannu Rauhala, a Helsinki-based analyst at Pohjola Bank. Siemens has been seeking to exit wireless-gear manufacturing to focus on energy equipment, healthcare and infrastructure projects. Bloomberg News reported the accord late yesterday.
“With this transaction, Nokia buys itself a future, whatever happens in smartphones and feature phones,” said Pierre Ferragu, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein in London. “Nokia Siemens has a future in the network equipment world, with a streamlined operation and a No. 2 position in a now concentrated and stable market.”
Shares Jump
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is providing Nokia financing for the transaction, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the details are confidential. Elop declined to comment on financing details.
Nokia rose as much as 29 cents and traded 6.9 percent higher at 3.04 euros at 11:57 a.m. in Helsinki, valuing the company at 11.4 billion euros. Siemens gained 1.5 percent to 78.83 euros on the Frankfurt exchange.
Nokia Siemens’s headquarters will stay in Espoo, Finland, and Rajeev Suri will continue to lead the equipment supplier. Nokia and Munich-based Siemens expect to complete the deal in the current quarter.
Nokia Siemens, which reported 2012 revenue of 13.8 billion euros, is evaluating a sale of manufacturing plants in Finland, India and China for as much as 600 million euros and to outsource production, said a person familiar with the matter. The plan is preliminary and may not result in a transaction, the person said.
Private Equities
Nokia and Siemens abandoned talks with private-equity buyers in 2011 over a sale of the business as the firms failed to come up with a compelling offer. Nokia Siemens then started a program in late 2011 to cut 17,000 jobs, or about 23 percent of the total. Competition from Asian rivals Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. (000063) prompted Nokia Siemens and its western rivals such as Ericsson AB and Alcatel-Lucent SA to eliminate jobs. Nortel Networks Corp. went bankrupt in 2009.
Nokia Siemens had about 56,700 employees at the end of the first quarter and supplies companies such as Deutsche Telekom AG and Vodafone Group Plc. Cost cuts helped the equipment maker more than triple operating profit excluding some items to 778 million euros last year.
Nokia Siemens is the most recent technology venture in Europe to unravel. Sony Corp. last year completed a buyout of its mobile-phone partnership with Ericsson AB. Ericsson and STMicroelectronics SA this year agreed to split up their unprofitable chipmaking venture ST-Ericsson.
Handset Challenge
Nokia said today it had net cash of 3.7 billion euros to 4.2 billion euros at the end of June, down from 4.5 billion euros at the end of March. Nokia’s debt is at junk status with the three main rating companies. In January, Nokia scrapped its dividend for the first time in at least 143 years to bolster liquidity.
“There’s a range of options that could exist for NSN over time,” Elop said during the call. “All of those options remain open.”
Nokia reported in April its smallest quarterly revenue in 13 years as handset demand waned. Its first-quarter sales fell 20 percent as competition from Asian manufacturers building phones that run Google Inc.’s Android software hurt demand for Nokia’s basic handsets.
The cost to protect Nokia debt against non-payment for five years with credit-default swaps rose as much as 1.6 percent to 583 basis points, suggesting a deterioration in creditworthiness, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That insurance cost has come down by more than half from a record on July 18.
Energy Focus
Siemens, which makes products from power turbines to high-speed trains, renewed efforts to sell its stake earlier this year, holding talks with buyout firms about a potential transaction, according to two people familiar with the talks.
The deal may help CEO Peter Loescher, who this year announced the fourth profit forecast cut in his six-year tenure, to reach a target for matching profitability atGeneral Electric Co. (GE) and ABB Ltd. (ABBN)
“With this transaction, we continue our efforts to strengthen our focus on Siemens’ core areas of energy management, industry and infrastructure as well as healthcare,” Chief Financial Officer Joe Kaeser said in today’s statement.
Loescher, an Austrian national who joined Siemens in 2007 from drugmaker Merck & Co. as the first CEO hired from outside the company, started a savings program last year after acknowledging he had been slow to react to the economic downturn. The CEO is also under pressure after some deals that he supervised soured and a push into environmentally friendly energy led to spiraling costs.
Europe’s largest engineering company this year announced the closure of its loss-making solar unit, and is also selling water technologies, parcel automation, airport logistics and air freight units, while its Osram Licht AG lighting unit will be spun off.
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