The bad news for the Nook continues to flow, but Barnes & Noble doesn’t seem to care. According to the company, the Nook’s revenue declined more than 20% to $153 million, and overall the company reported a net loss of $87 million. The bookseller said that the Nook revenue loses were due to “lower unit selling volume” as well as dwindling ebook sales. But the company is going to bulk up its line regardless, and stick with the Nook for the time being; their goal is to release one new Nook device by the holiday season. Whether it’s enough to bring the widely-regarded failure of a product back into relevancy will be important to watch.
Tag: Business
7-Eleven Is Selling Electronics
Although 7-Eleven is best known for its late night snacks, it now sells electronics in stores in Asia. A preliminary test run sold 100,000 Internet-connected discount TVs in only six weeks. The devices themselves weren’t stocked in stores, but were rather sold through an in-store kiosk and thereafter over the Internet. Now, the partnership between 7-Eleven and the Foxconn group – the same company that makes Apple’s products – is going to extend to smartphones and tablets after the initial, successful run. It’s all part of Foxconn’s plan to diversify from Apple, which makes up 60% of its revenue.
UPS Now Offers 3D Printing
If you work for a startup, own a small business, or an entrepreneur, the UPS store will now offer you 3D printing on site. UPS is offering the service for companies that want to quickly and cheaply roll out models and prototypes of devices they want to produce. The store is testing the uPrint SE Plus, which according to the manufacturer is better equipped to handle detailed, industrial-type projects than the Makerbot – albeit at ten times the cost. Staples attempted to capitalize on 3D printing last fall, but the offerings are only available online in select locations. For the time being, UPS’s service is rolling out in San Diego, with the intent to reach across the nation.TA
What, Actually, Is Native Advertising?
According to a new study from eMarketer, most people’s definitions of native advertising vary. Nonetheless, native advertising has increasing interest among publishers and ad buyers – as well as many new opportunities to generate ad revenue. Most publishers have already rolled out some native ad opportunities; 75% of US publishers said they already offered native advertising, and 17% said they were planning to offer it this year. But even though there is consensus on offering native ads, nearly 90% said that native advertising was “content produced in conjunction with the advertiser, or by the advertiser, that runs within the editorial stream.” Simultaneously, 79% believed native advertising must be clearly delineated and labeled as such. But while there is confusion on what, exactly, are the defining tenants of native advertising, publishers did agree that engagement was the leading metric used to judge the success of ads, followed by traffic and social sharing.
Leap Motion Controllers Ship Today
After a two-month delay, Leap Motion is launching its 3D gesture controller to the public. The first devices are being shipped ahead of the July 27th retail release, and the app center is already up and running – with 75 options to choose from. Leap Motion claims that the controller is 200 times more precise than Microsoft’s Kinect system, which was initially a controller for the Xbox 360. Preorders for Leap Motion’s controller were set to ship on May 13th, but that was pushed back until now for undisclosed reasons.
Soldsie Exceeds $10M In Transactions
Soldsie, a company that processes payments on top of Facebook comments, announced that it has processed more than $10 Million in transactions, and will be expanding into several foreign markets. The service allows you to buy things in the Facebook comments section, and allow companies to grab buyer’s attention in the moment. With several companies mounting challanges to the traditional buyers model, Soldsie seems to have figured out an effective method of transitioning social media engagement into dollars.
Honda Responds To Tweets With Vines
In perhaps one of the most innovative uses of Vine to date, Honda is responding – with Vine videos – to users who tweet with #wantnewcar, in real time. The videos are filmed on premises, at the same time the tweet comes in, customized to the twitter handle of the user that sent the tweet out. Though other companies like Urban Outfitters have turned to Vine for campaigns, this is a new step forward in real-time, creative advertising with the medium.
Stratasys Acquires MakerBot
Stratasys announced that it has acquired MakerBot in a deal that is reportedly worth $403 million, based on the current share value of Stratasys. This brings together a 3D printing leader and an emerging competitor in desktop 3D printing, and should drive adoption of the medium across the board. It also signals an immediate 3D printing juggernaut that could dominate the industry for years to come, before it has even truly taken off. MakerBot will continue to operate as separate from Stratasys as part of the deal, but it will be a subsidiary of Stratasys and will serve the consumer and desktop market while Stratasys continues to focus on its industrial placements.
Facebook Boasts 1 Million Active Advertisers
Facebook announced yesterday that it has more than one million businesses actively advertising on the social network. The “vast majority” of those businesses and advertisers are small businesses, according to Dan Levy, Facebook’s director of small business. Much of the feedback from these small businesses is to keep advertising simple on Facebook, and perhaps with that message in mind Facebook announced plans to cut the number of ad products in half in order to streamline the ad experience for those looking to use the network for marketing.
ComScore Study: 46% of Ads Never Seen
Coupled with the news from earlier today that desktop ad spending is decreasing, ComScore released new data that 46% of advertisements – even targeted advertisements – on websites are never seen by website visitors. This comes after more than a year of additional tracking by the company, which counts 22 of the top 25 U.S. advertisers as clients. But this new data likely comes from the fact that ComScore has reached out beyond premium ad publishers and blue-chip advertisers in the past year, and indeed many of the “lower tier” sites have in-view rates well below 50%. Nonetheless, the numbers paint an even starker picture for the world of desktop advertising and its future, especially compared to the targeting capabilities of the mobile environment.
