The Technology Inventory
Also check out the Telecom Inventory and the Resources Inventory
Point and shoot cameras have been negatively impacted by the popularity of smartphone devices, and the industry is now scrambling to competed with the powerful handheld devices by adding web-friendly features and upgrading technologies.
But it isn’t only the sales of digital point and shoot cameras affected by the smartphone craze. Video consoles as well as portable music players are also taking a hit, as most of new devices like the iPhone or Samsung Android phones combine similar music applications and photo features allowing for an “all-in-one” selling point - a computer, a camera, a phone, and a music player built in a sleek frame.
The Japanese companies like Nikon, Sony, and Canon are all seeing a decline in sales for the compact phone market as most consumers turn to the convenience of camera-equipped smartphones. With image-quality for the new devices also improving, the camera sector is now facing an increasing challenge to find new ways for buyers to consider a point and shoot device.
Recommended read:
After the US tech giant won a $1 billion patent infringement case against Samsung, the latter has cancelled a lucrative contract with Apple to supply the LCD displays used in devices such as the iPhone, Macbooks, and iPad. The development means that by next year Apple devices will be using the Samsung display.
Apple is already in talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to replace Samsung, who has also been manufacturing the CPU used for the iPad and iPhone. The California-based consumer electronics giant is already looking for other display manufacturers after the cancelled contract with the South Korean company.
Samsung Display supplied majority of Apple’s LCD displays for the first half of this year, shipping numbers of up to a 15 million. Now, Samsung is looking to compensate for the cancelled contracts by supplying to Amazon, and its sister company, Samsung Mobile.
Technology Inventory recommends:
Since Facebook’s IPO, many are wondering if the social media giant, an almost ubiquitous part of modern life, is as stable as it seems. Adding fuel to the fire after a not so stellar IPO, is the recent news of co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and Facebook board member, Peter Thiel, cashing in on their shares. Moskovitz sold 450,000 shares to profit him a around $9 million, while Thiel sold 20 million shares for a total of $396 million. The social networking site’s stock value has slumped since it’s initial public offering last May. With the first big investor cashing out, is Facebook really going down?
Web analysts are saying: No.
Facebook, despite having problems at the stock market, remains to be challenged by a competitor which can deliver all of its services and then some. Unfortunately, no other social networking site can offer such an individualized and convenient service as Facebook, and competition like Google Plus haven’t really kept up. Twitter, the popular microblogging site, has merely complemented Zuckerberg’s invention. Facebook appeals to wide demographic which other social media platforms offer only as a specialty. If you want games, go to Friendster but Facebook has that too. If you want to market your business, there is Multiply but Facebook has Business Pages too.
Even those hard-pressed to create online accounts admit to Facebook’s maneuvering to becoming a crucial component of our communications lives. So despite the faltering Facebook stock value (which, most people only see as a minor hiccup), the site will continue having all of us liking and sharing posts, uploading our drunk photos, and ranting away at midnight.
You might also want to read:
Nokia reported a 39 percent year-on-year drop in the number of smartphones it sold in the second quarter, to 10.2 million, while its net loss more than trebled. - Peter Sayer for ARN
Nokia has been struggling financially as it tries to keep up with the smartphone industry currently dominated by Samsung’s mobile devices running on Google’s Android platform, and Apple’s iPhone, which is rumored to release the latest version, iPhone 5, next month. The company faces challenges in its transition to the Windows Phone operating system from the previous Symbian OS. Only in the US has Nokia’s Lumia 900, created to compete with the Android phones and Apple’s mobile devices, has sales been good. Demand for the Lumia phones are still uncertain despite a 2% percent increase in feature phones sold.
Read more about Nokia’s smartphone sales here
Tech Inventory recommends:
Despite having one of the most known brands, and one of the largest Internet audiences, Yahoo’s financial problems has continued. The company posted a 4% decrease in their 2nd Quarter financial results from last year, and their stock closed at $15.60 on Tuesday. The lackluster financial results presents a problem to newly appointed CEO, Marissa Mayer, a former Google executive taken in by the company as it returns back to its Silicon Valley roots.
But what are the other challenges that the 37 year old Mayer face as she tries to steer Yahoo away from its financial malaise?
Here are the Top 3 Challenges to the new Yahoo CEO
Tech Inventory recommends
Do you want to make money online? Well, here are 30 of the most common ways to earn some much-needed cash online.
1. Blogging is perhaps the most popular way of making money online. It’s an attractive platform to get extra cash just by being yourself or expressing things you like.
2. PPC or a Pay Per Click program is the most commonly used method employed by bloggers in their sites. Basically, you’re paid whenever a visitor clicks an ad in your website.
3. Sponsored Reviews This refers to when a product owner asks you to make a review of their products for their marketing efforts.
4. Sponsored Post is when you’re paid to write about a specific website using very specific or targeted keywords.
5. Theme or Template Sales is especially popular in sites like Tumblr wherein themes with extra features can be installed for a fee.
6. Freelance Work is also a great way to make money online. Essentially, all your experience in blogging can be offered as a service through consultations, content development, etc.
7. Paid online surveys are also a source of revenue as companies across the globe are also shelling out big bucks on consumer research.
8. Make money online with Facebook by developing your own niche or persona on the site, and offering your expertise on a specific area as a service.
9. Affiliate marketing on Twitter helps you make money online when people click on a business ad you promote to your followers.
10. RevTwt is a platform that focuses on CPC (cost per click). After RevTwt checks out your Twitter, they’ll sign you up to promote services on your account, and every time someone clicks on your tweets, you make money.
11. Writing simple web articles to make money online since many sites require people to help develop content or provide information especially because they don’t have time to do it themselves.
12. Becoming a travel writer is also a way to make money online. Build specificcontent detailing your trips across the globe. If you’re especially good at making features, travel magazines may even pay you to contribute content to their pages.
13. Affiliate Marketing is driving traffic to another site. Here, you can refer online shoppers to particular products and get a percentage of the sale as a return.
14. Network Marketing is another way of making money online. Create as many meaningful relationships with as many contacts as possible. With a wider “audience”, you can sell more products to people, and obviously make more money online.
15. Be a researcher. Clients who don’t have time on their side can hire you to look for specific content that they’ll use to structure business strategies.
16. Building your own online forum community is also a legitimate way to make money online. Build a forum centered on a topic you’re knowledgeable about - volleyball, cooking, interior design or even gardening - and charge a fee for memberships.
17. Be an inbound call center agent to get some extra cash. In this scenario, you make money online by being an employed “outsider” of the company who will handle their calls from customers.
18. Try Infolinks. Make money online creating articles with outbound in-text links. Infolinks are a great source of income because many websites and blogs accommodate them.
19. Use Adbrite so you can sell space on your site for text ads.
20. Google AdSense, in turn, displays relevant ads that fit your site’s content.
21. Software Judge allows you to make money online by simply reviewing a software product.
22. Sell photographs online. If you’re amazing behind the lens, you can make money online selling great images to as many interested clients and sites.
23. Share files online. It’s an easy way to make money online. There are document sharing sites that pay you every time someone downloads a file you’ve uploaded - that simple.
24. Design logos. Hundreds of websites are in need of a logo and since not every one is a god at Photoshop, you might as well make good use of your design talent.
25. Recording songs and selling them. Offer songs to record companies as demos for other artists.
26. Edit audio for others. Offer your editing services for podcasts and interviews. You can also make money online by editing videos and other forms of media to earn extra cash.
27. Go to Ebay. Yes, look at your junk and start selling them at the site. It’s one of the more popular ways to make money online.
28. Start an online store. Sign up to Winezap, Crushpad, or Amazon Store and build your own place to sell various products.
29. Make and sell your own board games. You can make money online through The Game Crafter, a site where you get paid for making a personal, ultimate jigsaw puzzle or modern twist on Monopoly.
30. Install plug-ins and upgrades. Some bloggers or clients may not have the time to add extra features to their web platforms, but if you can spare a few minutes a day to help someone, in exchange of a fee, then this is suited for you. Tasks like this are being outsourced and are currently in demand.
Tech Inventory recommended reads:
Social media patrons always treat ads as the ultimate evil, forcing major social networking sites to be prudent in running ads. Facebook has managed to run ads without annoying users, but the temptation of increasing mobile ad revenues is now haunting popular sites like Facebook. In the February IPO filing of Facebook, the company hinted on possible monetization of its mobile offshoot like in the form of sponsored stories displayed as mobile News Feeds. The social media giant also revealed that more than half of its 845 million users sign in on their phones, yet the site is not yet maximizing revenues from such visitors.
