Consumer's guide to downloadable gifts

Consumer's guide to downloadable gifts

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JESSICA MINTZ
The Associated Press

Published: November 29, 2011

Remember when gifts were objects, purchased or crafted and wrapped with a bow, then presented with a flourish?

Over the last few years, gift cards have become a popular alternative, and now as we become increasingly connected to our smartphones, laptops and e-readers, gifts are going digital, too. Here's what you need to know to navigate a holiday shopping season without gift wrap or envelopes or even little plastic cards.

via newsok.com

Jessica Mintz writes about some useful suggestions on holiday gifts including E readers such as the Nook.. She goes on to look at Groupon and Living social.

Another element examined is Facebook based gift card and mobile Apps . This is known as social gifting.This is run by a company called Lord and Taylor from a Facebook page. You never know it might be interesting to some.

AppsArabia research: Apps take over the Middle East | Traffic Online | AMEinfo.com

The use of mobile apps in the Middle East has witnessed stupendous growth in the last twelve months. According to new research from AppsArabia, 85% of smartphones and tablets in the MENA region have apps installed. The research estimates that seven out of ten smartphone users in the region use mobile apps at least once every day, while 51% use apps all day long.

via ameinfo.com

Tech news from the Middle East suggests that app usage is flying and likely to grow at a high rate over the coming years

This article posted by Nadeen El Ajou offers some useful insight in to the current potion in the GCC Region

Feedback if you like to john.davy@mefas.co.uk

Tablet Owners Spend More Time and Money Shopping Online [INFOGRAPHIC]

Tablet Owners Define New Category of Shoppers [INFOGRAPHIC]

8 hours ag

via mashable.com

I read this article this morning and immediately thought I would share it. The article has a great little info-graphic and gives some startling and positive news about the likely increase in online spending generated by users of Tablets.

Online marketing and affiliate sales systems are certainly going to benefit if these predictions come good. More and more people will be entering the internet marketing environment in coming years to get some part of that expected $31 billion US spend expected by 2016.

IFS and others have been and will continue to focus on this sector. I would gladly respond to any feedback or ideas on this subject

Binladin Group gets huge loan for airport project - Transport - Zawya

Gulf News

Dubai Saudi Binladin GroupSaudi Binladin Group

Saudi Binladin Group

Binladen Brothers for Contracting and Industry

Saudi Arabia | Construction

News | Profile | Officers

» Research » Projects

(SBGSBG

Saudi Binladin Group

Binladen Brothers for Contracting and Industry

Saudi Arabia | Construction

News | Profile | Officers

» Research » Projects

), the kingdom’s largest civil contractor, yesterday signed an 8.5 billion Saudi riyal (Dh8.32 billion) syndicated finance package from a consortium of regional and international lenders that will help the company to execute a 27.1 billion-riyal project to develop and expand King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah.

via zawya.com

IFS and sister company MEFAS are well positioned to help interested parties who can at the same time play a role in SBG's massive build programme. The Programme of works in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia outstrips the resource available by some way and companies such as SBG are constantly seeking support in their operations.

It is the stated aim of MEFAS to promote bi lateral trade between KSA and UK Europe in a number of markets that include Construction, Defence and homeland security, Motor sport and event overlay.

Please get in touch if we can be of use for your aim and ambition to operate in the region.

john.davy@mefas.co.uk

G Styled: Nook Tablet vs Kindle Fire – Which One Would I Carry?

Well it looks like another round of tablets, eReaders, and those in between are currently making their way onto the market. I’ve been asked this week to weigh in on the Nook Tablet and the Kindle Fire. Which device is your most stylish choice out of these new entries?

via blog.laptopmag.com

a good comparison of the main players in this growing mini market for reader come tablets. Jason brings the Fujitsu into play which gives a slightly different stance on the scene.

2011 Annual General Meeting of the Global Sourcing Council

Annual General Meeting of The Global Sourcing Council

On the evening of Thursday, 17 November 2011, the South African Consulate General in New York was delighted to host the Annual General Meeting of the Global Sourcing Council.  The event attracted over 50 representatives from companies working in the international sourcing industry. 

via southafrica-newyork.net

We like this organisation. The global sourcing Council is non profit and focuses on an educational mission promoting and exchanging ideas with business on a global scale.

Please take time to read about some of their recent activities in South Africa

Nook Tablet Video Review and First Impressions | The eBook Reader Blog - eReader and Tablet Reviews and News

Nook Tablet Video Review and First Impressions

Posted on November 18th, 2011 by Nathan

The Nook Tablet was originally slated for release today, November 18th. It ended up arriving in stores a few days early—score!—so I canceled my pre-order and went down to my local Barnes and Noble store and picked one up.

Thanks to a loophole that allows the installation of third-party Android apps without a hack, the Nook Tablet turned out being a lot cooler than I expected it would be.

via blog.the-ebook-reader.com

As ever e-readers Nathan comes up with some great content and a balanced review of the new Nook Tablet. He makes some great points about Android apps and some of the differences against previous Nook Incarnations

The fact that the Tablet is lighter and that it has a quick operating system are highlighted in the article. At the end there is a good piece of video that walks you though the Nook Tablets features and operating system

nicely written piece for sure

In Fire vs Nook: It's Fire by a nose – USATODAY.com

Who doesn't appreciate a good old-fashioned brawl every now and again? There may be no bigger slugfest than what is taking place this week in 7-inch touch-screen tablets as the Kindle Fire from Amazon goes toe-to-toe with the Nook Tablet from Barnes & Noble.

via usatoday.com

USA Today do a great review that gives a split decision for the competition..

Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet: What We Like, What We Don’t

Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet: What We Like, What We Don’t

via blog.laptopmag.com

Great review with some video to go through. Gives some detail on the ups and the downs. Ups are:

Physical buttons
Light weight
strong viewing angles
Cool design

and the other way....

Weak speakers
Children s book don't save a place
No Side loading
Poor offline media options..
Please read the Lap top mag article for more detail

Nook Tablet Arrives Early

via mashable.com

Now the Nook Tablet goes to market a day early following the Kindle fires pre launch launch.. Son you will have to have a launch date for the launch date!

Amazon Kindle Fire: What the web is saying — Mobile Technology News

Amazon Kindle Fire: What the web is saying

By Kevin C. Tofel Nov. 14, 2011, 12:08pm PT 10 Comments

• inShare31

Early reviews of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet appeared on Monday, in advance of the device being received by customers. A mixed bag of impressions round out the reviews

via gigaom.com

It would appear that the Fire is getting a mixed bag in early responses to it's launch. Nook Tablet to follow shortly. In fact tomorrow I think is sale day.

This will run for a bit I suspect and we should get some sensible comparisons in a week or two..

Nook Tablet vs. Kindle Fire Poll

It's about to go down: both the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet go on sale this week. The tablets have their differences, but both are easy on the wallet (the Kindle Fire is $199 and the Nook Tablet is $249), will have access to tons of books for downloading, come with bright and crisp 7-inch screens, video and music streaming options, apps, and WiFi connectivity.

via geeksugar.com

Nook covers and cases are closely following the impending battle!

A day so left to go and all is getting fairly exciting out there... Kindle have jumped the gun bringing the fire launch ahead 24 hours. Some would say that reaction shows at least a healthy respect for the competition B & N Nook Table is putting in place.

The attached article from Geek sugar gives some indicators on where both sides are coming from, mainly on price and they give you the option to contribute to their poll. Be interesting to catch up on later and see the way people were voting.

T - 2 and counting as they say at NASA!

The Nook Color, Super Soft, Super Slim Silicone Skin! | Nook Covers

If you are looking for a protective case for your favorite gadget then check out the iShoppingdeals – for Barnes & Noble NOOK COLOR eBook Reader tablet wi-fi, black soft silicone skin case cover and smart headphone wrap/key chain style.

This smart and sassy cover comes with a range of functions and features to meet the diverse requirements of the users. The soft blue skin adds a lot of personality to it and is sure to grab

via nookcoversandmore.com

Nice simple cover that I found this morning

New post on enookcoversandcases.com

Good Day and trust the weekend is going well.

Just wanted to drops a line that a new post has been place on enookcoversandcases.com

Been a bit of a week with the Nook Tablet launch, an announcement on Barnes and Noble finally coming over to Europe (maybe) and also a nice little site called Pad & Quill that I have been checking out.

Hope you enjoy it and find the info useful!

All the best

JD

Nook Tablet: How Does It Stack Up Against the Competition? [CHART]

The great tablet wars are nigh. While a horde of Android slabs battle the iPad for supremacy, Amazon returned to the fray in September with the Kindle Fire, hoping to reclaim stewardship of the ereader throne. Not to be outdone, Barnes & Noble thrust forth its Nook Tablet this morning in a bold gambit to split the market asunder.

via mashable.com

OK Second post of the night as Mashable tech are offering a really useful comparison table for you to check out.

It clearly compares Images, dims, data capacity, battery life,RAM and Processor, File formats Operating systems and finally importantly PRICE

Barnes and Noble to Launch International Nook in 2012 | The eBook Reader Blog - eReader and Tablet Reviews and News

Barnes and Noble to Launch International Nook in 2012

Posted on November 10th, 2011 by Nathan

Earlier in the week The Bookseller posted an article that mentions Barnes and Noble’s plans to launch the Nook internationally within the next four months.

The United Kingdom is mentioned specifically, which leads to speculation about B&N partnering with Waterstone’s, a major UK book chain looking to expand its ereader selection.

Here’s the quote from the article:

via blog.the-ebook-reader.com

Huge news for the UK Market...Nook is on the way. Barnes & Noble have announced that 2012 will bring an international role out that will include the United Kingdom and Europe.

Chief executive of Barnes and Noble,William Lynch stated that consumers in the UK should expect an announcement within the next four months about the Nook going international. “We want to do it right,” he commented.

Cool news after a few years of Nook wilderness in Europe

Nook Tablet vs Kindle Fire vs Kobo Vox Comparison Review | The eBook Reader Blog - eReader and Tablet Reviews and News

Nook Tablet vs Kindle Fire vs Kobo Vox Comparison Review

Posted on November 9th, 2011 by Nathan

The three largest ebook companies all have shiny new color ereaders that double as tablets ready just in time for the holiday season, with all of them trying to duplicate the success of the Nook Color from last year. Comparing the specs of the Nook Tablet versus the Kindle Fire and Kobo Vox reveals all three are very similar devices.

via blog.the-ebook-reader.com

Ebook reader lines up the big three to give you some comparison reading. Nothing like an informed choice before you go out to shop!

Google Reader (38)

The three largest ebook companies all have shiny new color ereaders that double as tablets ready just in time for the holiday season, with all of them trying to duplicate the success of the Nook Color from last year. Comparing the specs of the Nook Tablet versus the Kindle Fire and Kobo Vox reveals all

via google.com

lining up a load of E readers to take a view on which might make an informed choice. Looks useful

App Buzz - Barnes & Noble Book Clubs

I have too many mobile devices. Until recently, a fair amount of my time was spent searching for a particular file – say, a saved picture of my daughter being disarmingly charming – and that is frustrating. Thankfully, there is now a solution available for the NOOK Color™. Drop Box by Dropbox, Inc. is a lifesaver. It has saved me more time and headaches in the past couple of weeks than I feel comfortable sharing. I can be really unorganized

via bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com

Check this out my good user of Nook friends!!

I love drop box!!. If you choose to take none of my advice but this, then I reckon you will thank me for ever. Dropbox changed my life about a year ago. Apple are starting to catch up with I-Cloud, but this facility is the best thing since sliced bread!

I first picked up on drop box about a year ago having been recommended by a friend. As a matter of course they give you 5 gigs of cloud space and you can send files and folders all over the place.

I used to use yousendit which I thought was great, but this knocked the socks off it as you can send whole files for free and almost instantly once you have synced things up.

I liked it so much I coughed up the £50 odd bucks needed and now have 60 gigs of space. Marvelous. Even better when your friends and colleagues join they give you another few hundred megs of space to be getting on with.

Nook Users pay attention.. This is good stuff!

How Barnes & Noble Stores Help the Nook Tablet Take on Amazon

Amazon’s recently refreshed range of ebook devices — the Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G and Kindle Fire tablet — is coming to more than 16,000 retail locations in the U.S., the company announced Tuesday afternoon.

via mashable.com

It would appear clear that Amazom are responding to the Nook Tablet launch

The Nook Tablet: Good, but is it enough? - Fortune Tech

Apple and Amazon are fighting over the tablet market and Barnes & Noble doesn't want to be left out. But can its new device breathe life into its efforts?

From left: Nook Simple Touch ($99), Nook Color ($199), and the new Nook Tablet ($249).

via tech.fortune.cnn.com

CNN stick their oar in with some good opinions and comparisons on the New Nook Tablet

Barnes & Noble Launches Nook Tablet

via mashable.com

Big day for the boys and girls and Barns & Noble. Launch day for the Nook Tablet.

Lunch at the bull

Good to have a rest now again
If your in west Sussex I can highly recommend the bull in Newick

New Flexible LED Light Film Brings Light to eReaders | The eBook Reader Blog - eReader and Tablet Reviews and News

A reader tipped me a few weeks back about this Flex Lighting website that advertises a new type of lighting technology designed for ebook readers with reflective displays such as E Ink.

via blog.the-ebook-reader.com

This appears to be a bit of a leap forward and deserves a look. Will be checking on Flexlight in a day or two and reporting on its development for those that may be interested

Behind Amazon's and B&N’s Tablet Strategy - Businessweek

While computer-makers struggle to compete with Apple's iPad, Amazon and Barnes & Noble thrill consumers with simpler, cheaper tablets that entertain without monthly carrier bills

via businessweek.com

Bloomberg put up an interesting article on the reason that Nooks are competing with the likes of Apple. New launch means new ideas and a little competition cant hurt!

JD

Nook Covers and cases

Nook Tablet

via enookcoversandcases.com

Got up a bit early and hit the internet to take a look at what is hoped to be a big step on for the Nook.

The new Nook Tablet is launched on November 7th and goes on sale about a week later. Have noted some points on it that might be useful to read if you are thinking of getting hold of this little beauty!!

JD

New Nook Tablet to launch Nov. 16, report says | Crave - CNET

New Nook Tablet to launch Nov. 16, report says

via news.cnet.com

Another item adding to the Blog page. A lot going on this week. New Nook Enook covers and cases reports a new tablet launches on November 16th 2011

Pre release information suggests the new Nook will have Wi-Fi and feature a 7-inch VividView IPS color touch panel with a 1,024x600 screen resolution, a 1.2GHz dual-core OMAP4 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of inbuilt storage, and a microSD expansion slot.

Once again will report back on the blog once I review all detail

ROOCASE Multi-View Leather Case for Nook Color - Black - RC-NKCL-MV-BK

ROOCASE Multi-View Leather Case

via roocase.com

Now found a couple of interesting sites with great quality pieces. Something to get the teeth into and write about. It will all be on the blog in a couple of days

Case for Nook Color by PQ | The NookBook

We've crafted our NookBook for Nook 3G/Wifi and Nook Color cases from a precision routered Baltic Birch frame that's been hand sanded then coated in an environmentally friendly laquer.

via padandquill.com

Oh oh.. Can see a blog post coming here. Really liking these Pad & Quill systems. Will look into it and come right back!

Brown and Blue Nook Cover - Daffe Designs

via daffe-designs.com

In a world of boring norms it is nice to seek our something a little individual that can match up with the way you feel and at the same time be something you can identify with. Daffe design Nook cases do this in style.

Other imaginative designs I have recently checked out recently have come from the very creative Janine King of Janinekingdesigns, New York. Really nice work.

Getting on to the more expensive end, Henrik Vibskov makes some ethnic styled lap top cases and accessories that you might like to consider. (especially if you had a good weekend in Vegas!)

Google Reader from ebookreaders

Here’s a list of the best ebook readers that can be had for under $100

via google.com

ebookreader invariably gives some good comments on all aspects of the market. In this case reviewing ways to get hold of e readers at reduced rates. Comments sometimes throw up some useful ideas and always worth a read