Marissa Mayer Arming All Yahoo Employees iPhone 5’s

New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer might be anxious to get Yahoo turned around and revive the reputation, image, and value of the internet powerhouse but it this irresponsible and superficial or just plain super-cool? Mayer sent an email to all of Yahoo’s full time and part time employees in the US and said they would receive new smartphones under their internal program, “Yahoo! Smart Phones, Smart Fun!”.

Through the program, employees will have a choice of phones (along with data and voice plans) that includes the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X, HTC Evo 4G LTE, or Nokia Lumia 920. Notice anyone missing from the list? It’s just not going to get better for Blackberry is it….

According to a Yahoo memo, the idea is for Yahoo employees to use similar devices to what their users have so they can think and work like a majority of their users do. “People are happy,” Yahoo says. The program will cost Yahoo a few million dollars, but if the benefit will be a more informed and motivated workforce then Yahoo is on the right track to turn-around.

Read the article from businessinsider here: http://www.businessinsider.com/marissa-mayer-just-gave-every-yahoo-employee-an-iphone-5-2012-9#ixzz26w6RQjcZ

Experts say iPhone matches Blackberry in enterprise security

Certainly not what RIM executives want to see, and just another moment in the ongoing Blackberry decline. According to a report from Tech Republic by Nick Heath, “IT leaders and industry experts believe that Apple now roughly matches RIM on mobile security, removing BlackBerry’s last remaining advantage over the iPhone in enterprise.”

As I wrote about last October, one of the biggest reasons (aside from the physical keyboard) people allow themselves to suffer with miniture screen sizes and a sore lack of functionality via apps is the security a Blackberry environment can provide. Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) has always provided superior management, tracking, policy enforcement, and central management for a fleet of Blackberry devices. Now through many efforts of companies like Afaria, MobileIron, and Maas360 the Mobile Device Management (MDM) options for organizations allow for fleets of iOS, Android, and other devices to be managed just the same as a BES can – and without the hefty price tag RIM charges.

IT directors are seeing that there are no longer any reasons to limit employees to a Blackberry. Organizations ranging in fields from accounting shops with 2,500 employees to government agencies with over 12,000 employees are simply ditching Blackberry for something better and just as manageable.

With the iPhone 5 coming out this week, iPhone 4S is dropping to $99 and iPhone 4 can be found for free on some carriers. So now even the price of a device is on par, even better, than Blackberry.

A RIM spokesperson said the company was “unable to provide a comment” (unable or unwilling?) Oh well…at least RIM showed off…ERRRR, leaked the new Blackberry 10 recently…

Introducing iPhone 5

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/iphone-5-officially-announced/

• Thinner, longer, and 4” screen
• A6 processor
• iOS6
• Better camera (including panoramic mode)
• LTE 4G
• Turn by turn navigation
• 720p front facing camera
• Lightning port (new USB connector)
• Starting at $199 for 16 Gig

 

iPhone 5 vs iPhone 4s

iPhone 4 for free and iPhone 4s for $99

http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/12/apple-discounts-iphone-4s-$99/

The PC is dying while people fall in love with their tablets!

This infographic comes from ComScore as part of a great report on tablet usage and user satisfaction. Some interesting facts:

• Apps, price, and brand are most important in consumer decisions; not whether or not it is the same vendor as their phone/computer.
• iPad owners and Kindle Fire owners differ in one major way: iPad owners care more about the app selection and Fire owners care more about the price. (surprise?)
• Satisfaction of owners ranks 8.6 out of 10 compared to 8.1 of 10 for smartphones

Check the infographic for a nice summary.

ComScore infographic: Today's U.S. Tablet Owner Revealed.

(Credit: ComScore)

 

Meanwhile, an article by CNN Fortune says the PC is not just losing a battle to Apple; it dying completely. Slowly but surely. Whether it is from lack of innovation, the economy, or the tablet, one thing is sure – PC sales are down.

Market research firm IDC reported that sales were down last quarter 0.1%. Doesn’t seem like much until realizing just how far below the anticipated 2.1% growth that number actually is.

Could the PC make a comeback? With Windows 8 set to ship in October we may see a surge of PC sales, but Microsoft is marketing Surface tablets more than conventional PCs or even ultrabooks like the MacBook Air competitor, Dell XPS13. Is this an indication that even the PC company Microsoft is set to move in a different direction? I don’t believe we will be rid of PCs any time in the next few years, but with sales slowing like this and all signs pointing to more mobile, light-weight computing devices, the days of a huge tower sitting under your desk may be gone.

Check out the whole story here: SOURCE CNN Fortune

Five Secrets Of Companies That Build Great Teams

From an article featured on Techcrunch back in the middle of June, here are five secrets that companies use to build great teams.

1. Aggressively seek out passive candidates.

“…they (talent war winners) know that they have to go find top talent, not the other way around.”

2. Obsess about the “top of the funnel”.

“…recruiting is a numbers game and the most important number just might be the number of qualified people at the start of their pipeline.”

3. Give candidates a strong reason to engage with the company.

“The company’s jobs page is an obvious one but these companies also pay attention to the overall candidate experience.”

4. Obsessed with metrics.

“They track everything…and use the metrics to continually improve their processes and better allocate resources.”

5. Make recruiting their top priority

“They invest in the right tools and make sure their teams are fully staffed for the challenge in front of them. Recruiting high-quality candidates is not a “nice to have” for them. It’s an absolute must have.”

Check out the full article at Techcrunch

Apple Removes YouTube App From iOS

The YouTube app on iOS has been one of the native apps since the iPhone first came out. That is no more. Starting with iOS6 Beta 4, YouTube is not included on the device.

According to Apple’s official statement, “our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended, customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser and Google is working on a new YouTube app to be on the App Store.”

The YouTube app was created and kept up (or not kept up) by Apple, not Google. Users can still go to YouTube.com to watch videos and I have no doubt that the Google app will be far better than Apple’s version. This could turn out to be a good thing for iOS users who don’t have to live with a sub-par YouTube app that never gets updated and is outshined by the web version of YouTube.

Depending on what you believe, this could be more of Apple’s crusade to eliminate Google from the picture. Or it could be Google wanting to monetize their YouTube videos, which they can’t do through an app built by Apple. Either way, the iPhone seems to be just one step away from becoming an entirely Google free phone by default.

What Happens When Your Products Just Work?

You don’t have to spend money on marketing and promotion. None.

According to marketing chief Phil Schiller’s testimony on Friday in the Apple vs. Samsung patent trial, Apple relies on two strategies:

• Rely on the media to create buzz for its products through positive reviews
• Product placement in TV shows and movies

When the iPhone was launched in 2007, the company didn’t do any advertising for a period of time. They didn’t have to.

Mass media reports, reviews, and pop culture buzz alone was enough to lift the iPhone to the forefront of public mindshare around mobile device technology. This should come as no surprise, but I find it fascinating that this strategy was successful before anyone even knew how much this phone would change the world.

Read more at Business Insider