This chart by Michael DeGusta provides a great illustratation of why the New York Times paywall is going to fail. I know there are a lot of reports that people are willing to pay for news, but Im not sure they are happy to pay this much.
In the chart you will notice annual prices from a variety of services in different sectors. All of these services allow users to access via the web and across multiple devices.
For instance, I used Rhapsody’s $14.99 plan which allows 3 devices (e.g. iPhone & iPad), as opposed to their $9.99 plan that allows only one. I think that’s a fair apples-to-apples comparison of how much different providers are asking for full access. Though in case there was any doubt how out of line The Times’ pricing is, even their “NYTimes.com + Tablet App” (i.e. no phone app access) is still 25% higher than the Wall Street Journal’s all access plan.
I’ve also added the explicit names of each subscription plan below for more clarity, as well as corrected the annual Dropbox price.
Microsoft has really been on a roll with Windows Phone 7, but I would really like to see a Windows Phone 7 platform, without the phone!
Microsoft has convinced Nokia to adopt Windows Phone 7 and it seems like more and more app developers are moving over to the platform. I really think that Microsoft could start to use Windows Phone 7 in the same way as Apple are using iOS on all of their devices.
When can I see a Windows Phone 7 device without a phone?
The new iPod Touch has been a great product for Apple and has really pushed them forward in the world of music players. Since Microsoft recently announced they would be no longer making Zune music players, why not create a product dedicated to the Windows Phone 7 platform, but specifically for a music player and app tool?
Over the past year Im sure there has been an arguement on whether to choose an Android phone or an iPhone pretty much every minute. Here is some new research from Blaze that concluded that webpages loaded faster on Android devices compared to iPhone.
Poor old Steve Jobs has always mentioned the speed of iOS, but in fact they need to step it up a gear.
Blaze ran over 43,000 tests and the research was very conclusive. Real phones were used, connecting to real websites and measured using custom-built agents designed to measure page load speed.
Will you now be more interested in getting an Android phone?
The Digital Music Report is out and it claims that 95% of all digitial music downloads are illegal. Bittorrent is still on the rise, but it seems like adoption of digital music services is growing and more music is being consumed now than ever before.
CD sales are still on the rapid decline and sales of downloaded music rose by 6% to 4.6 billion U.S. dollars (3.4bn euros). Meanwhile, nearly a third of the total turnover for record companies comes from digital business.
Apple has just launched the second edition of its very popular iPad product. The iPad 2 was launched by Steve Jobs this morning and it has already sparked a 5% share price increase in Apple stocks.
For the past two years Apple stocks has been on the strong rise and this is looking to grow even further after Jobs announced the impressive figures from iPad sales. These figures show that Apple is in a great position in the tablet market with over 90% marketshare.
The iPad 2 features major hardware and design upgrades from the original iPad. The iPad 2 will feature an A5 processor which will rapidly increase speed and graphics. Plus, the iPad 2 features front and rear cameras which will make video calls even easier.
How do you think the iPad 2 will affect Apples stock price?
When a new visitor clicks on a business’ website, that business only has a few briefs moments to turn that visitor into a convert. If a visitor doesn’t immediately receive the impression they desire from a business website at first glance, they will be quick to move on to a competing site. To ensure that your web site has the highest conversion rate possible it needs to incorporate the following five key components:
Professional Web Design
The quality of a business’ web site often indicates its credibility and financial viability. If potential clients have difficulty navigating your website, or believe the site’s design looks unprofessional, they will most likely move along. Business owners should always pay the extra expense to have their website professionally designed. A captivating web design will increase potential customer confidence in your professionalism.
Sing Your Praises
Business owners should never be afraid to place any positive press or awards on their website. Top name sponsors are also a good idea to have visible on a website as they encourage visitors to trust the products and/or services. Visitors recognize organizations, such as the Better Business Bureau, and if they see these affiliations prominently on a website they are more likely to trust the business.
Promote Social Networking
Give visitors the option to promote your business through social networking sites, such as Facebook, by “friending” them. It makes the customer feel as though they are a part of your business, and also gives your business a free advertisement. The access social networking gives to communities outside of your reach with open the door to clients who might not ordinarily have known about your business.
Post the Physical Address
A physical address should always be listed on a business website as it makes a business appear more viable. Businesses without physical addresses posted on their websites often create uncertainty in visitors as they don’t have any evidence proving that the company actually exists. If a visitor is left questioning a business’ existence, they will most likely skip on to the next business listing.
State Your Security
If a company’s website doesn’t appear secure, a visitor will not want to conduct business through the site. Although secure sites have the prefix “https,” most visitors don’t look for this. The best way to for a business to advertise their site’s security is by visibly posting it on its web pages.
The more trustworthy a company’s website the more quickly a company will be able to turn website visitors into clients. To create a quality and trustworthy website, many companies choose to employ an online marketing agency. An agency will not only help a company save precious time and money, but they will also be able to help companies turn their websites into profitable assets that will increase business and gain the company greater national and global recognition.
When a new visitor clicks on a business’ website, that business only has a few briefs moments to turn that visitor into a convert. If a visitor doesn’t immediately receive the impression they desire from a business website at first glance, they will be quick to move on to a competing site. To ensure that your web site has the highest conversion rate possible it needs to incorporate the following five key components:
It has been revealed that the Apple App Store sold over $1.78 billion in 2010, which is a 132% increase over its 2009 revenue. More importantly it shows the growth of the other major players in the application race. It seems as though all App Store competitors have grown, but no one is standing out yet as the main competitor. Im surprised to see that the Google Android Market didnt grow more.
It has been noted that currently Valve is making more money per employee than the likes of Google or Apple. It is easy to work out how much the publicly traded Google and Apple make per employee, estimating what Valve pulls in is tougher.
Steam is an online video game distribution program owned by Valve; it controls an estimated 50-70% of the $4 billion per year market for downloaded games. Valve’s founder, Gabe Newell, says that the 250-person company brought in “high hundreds of millions of dollars” in 2010. Although, they have not released their financials, over 30 million people using Steam so it’s easy to assume they are doing as well as he says.
I came across this very interesting video of Jason Calacanis speaking about his pivot strategy of Mahalo at the DLD in Munich last month. Calacanis didnt mix his words and I think nearly everything he said is what most people in the technology space are thinking.
Microsoft has really been on a roll with Windows Phone 7, but I would really like to see a Windows Phone 7 platform, without the phone!
