market

Report: Canon aims to reclaim top SLR rank

Canon hopes the new EOS Rebel XSi will help it reclaim the top spot in SLR camera market share in 2008 in Japan, according to a report Thursday.

Canon lost the top spot in Japan to Nikon, but the new entry-level Rebel XSi (called the 450D in Europe and the Kiss X2 in Asia) should help the company fight back this year, according to Canon director Masaya Maeda, quoted by Thomson after a Canon press conference.

Canon's ambitions are broader than just Japan and SLRs, though its lead isn't as threatened in other segments. "In 2008, we … Read more

Nokia's success tied to emerging markets

What separates the mobile handset winners from the losers? The answer seems to be success in developing markets like China, India, the Middle East, and Africa.

On Thursday Nokia announced that it had sold a record 133.5 million mobile phones during the fourth quarter of 2007. This figure was up by more than a quarter from the same period a year earlier, boosting its overall market share to 40 percent.

Meanwhile, Nokia rival Motorola reported Wednesday that shipments of its handsets had fallen 38 percent during the quarter, pushing its market share down yet again to 12 percent, the … Read more

Gates: Tech can save the economy

As investors around the globe view the sputtering U.S. economy with fear and trembling, at least one maven of the market economy sees a reason for hope: Bill Gates.

Stopping in Berlin on his way to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he's expected to speak Thursday about the ways a more "creative capitalism" could benefit society's needier members, Microsoft's chairman told the German newspaper Bild that the best medicine to stave off a worldwide economic crisis is a good dose of new tech.

"I am an optimist. The U.S. … Read more

Marketing software vs. marketing hardware

Here's a thought experiment: If you consider marketing as a function of information technology, and you consequently divide it into software and hardware, then you may draw an interesting analogy to what's currently happening in the wireless industry. Like the mobile industry, in particular handset phone makers, who experience a shift from hardware towards software, successful marketers ought to start focusing on what I call "marketing software."

Let me explain. Under marketing hardware I file the static, robust marketing framework long established in theory and practice: brand architecture, trademarks, direct mailing, loyalty programs, trade show booths, … Read more

Fujifilm's camera for the crazed?

Sometimes, it's simply too hard to resist quoting the press release: Fujifilm "today unveiled the FinePix Z20fd, a new ultraglam digital camera packed with useful features that let you face it, beam it, blog it, and now roll it with a new MPEG-4 movie-recording mode for the movie-crazed Generation Z."

Translation: The Z20fd replaces the Z10fd in the pretty-but-not-too-pricey market segment. Its basic specs include 10-megapixel sensor, a slow f/3.7-8.0 35mm-105mm-equivalent (3x) zoom lens and a low-resolution 150,000-pixel 2.5-inch LCD. Some of the more noncorporeal features include Fujifilm staples like Intelligent Flash (… Read more

Accenture snapping up Memetrics and Maxamine

Accenture and Oracle--separated at birth?

Accenture, a technology outsourcing behemoth, is beginning to look like Oracle's evil twin brother when it comes to acquisitions.

Accenture said on Wednesday it's snapping up two companies in a move to expand its digital marketing sciences unit.

One deal involves Memetrics Holdings, which develops technology designed to analyze thousands of Web pages to select the best format and context for various customer groups. That deal closed several weeks ago.

Accenture is also acquiring the assets of Maxamine, which scans customers' Web sites and then offers suggestions on ways to optimize the sites, … Read more

InfoUSA to acquire Direct Media

InfoUSA, which got a boost last year from its Super Bowl ads, is planning to bulk up its marketing database business again, the company said Wednesday.

But this time it's looking to add a little heft to its mass-mailing business with an acquisition of Direct Media, a Connecticut-based direct marketing company. The companies have signed a definitive agreement and expect to close the deal by the end of the month. Terms were not disclosed.

InfoUSA plans to take Direct Media and operate it as a wholly owned subsidiary. And apparently, InfoUSA has run this game plan before. Over the … Read more

Don't like greenwashing? Ask for standards

Manufacturers are falling over themselves to call their products "green" these days yet consumers often have limited means to verify those claims. But before consumers get cynical about those claims, better standards and certifications are needed, according to one expert.

Surveys show that about 20 percent of the public is interested in green products, with a small percentage of "deep greens" who are very well educated on products and services.

But how can a consumer avoid getting duped or disillusioned? Follow the lead of other industries, where there is some oversight of food and car safety … Read more

Microsoft wants more bang for its education buck

At its Government Leaders Forum in Berlin on Wednesday, Microsoft plans to announce that it is reinvesting in its Partners In Learning program, a global effort to provide software and training to teachers, students, and schools. The company is committing to another five years of the program.

In its first five years, Microsoft said the program reached 90 million people in 100 countries. The company plans to spend $235.5 million over the next five years, bringing its total investment to $500 million, but reach twice as many people in the next five years as it did during the first … Read more