Thursday, July 31, 2014

Software : Apple retail tipster claims iPhone 6 on sale Tuesday Oct. 14

Software : Apple retail tipster claims iPhone 6 on sale Tuesday Oct. 14


Apple retail tipster claims iPhone 6 on sale Tuesday Oct. 14

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Apple retail tipster claims iPhone 6 on sale Tuesday Oct. 14

Apple shifted iPhone launches from summer to fall in recent years, but one thing has otherwise remained constant: Consumers always line up around the block on a Friday, but that could be changing this year.

MacRumors today reported that Apple may be planning to reveal the forthcoming iPhone 6 at a media event on Tuesday, September 16, but has tentatively staked out October 14 for the actual on-sale date - presumably for the US and other first-world countries, at least.

According to an unnamed source attending a recent "internal Apple Retail Store meeting," a senior Store Leader apparently remarked how that particular day would be an "immense" one for the company, whose brick-and-mortar stores are expected to be busy all month long.

The report has raised eyebrows in many circles, considering every Apple iPhone launch since the first-generation handset in 2007 has taken place on a Friday, yet October 14 very clearly falls on a Tuesday this year.

Enough for everyone?

The only explanation offered by the source for swapping the day of the week was "high customer demand," which seems to be motivating Apple to ramp up iPhone 6 production to unprecedented levels in order to keep "an ample supply" available.

A separate report earlier this month outlined plans for a mid-September Apple event to take the wraps off iPhone 6 and iOS 8, with a second event penciled onto the calendar in October to announce the release of OS X 10.10 Yosemite, Mac and iPad product refreshes and possibly even a launch for the mythical iWatch.

In recent weeks, conflicting reports have questioned Apple's readiness to launch 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models of iPhone 6 at the same time, with several rumors claiming the larger device may be held up by ongoing production issues.

With summer rapidly winding to a close (already!), Apple watchers won't have much longer to wait for official confirmation from Cupertino on when they can start lining up to buy the shiniest, newest toys on the block.

  • Don't forget about our review of Apple's current iPhone 5S!

Google unleashes its 64-bit Chrome browser for Windows

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Google unleashes its 64-bit Chrome browser for Windows

Google announced in June that it had upgraded its Chrome browser for Windows 7 and Windows 8 to 64-bit, and now that version of the browser is available to the public in beta.

Upgrading the browser's bit count has made it faster and more secure, according to Google.

The 64-bit Chrome for Windows build first arrived in preview builds for developers last month, and this is the first time the general public has had access to a steady build.

The beta is available now from Google's official Chrome releases page.

Max beta

"The new version replaces the existing version while preserving all your settings and bookmarks, so there's no need to uninstall a current installation of Chrome," Google's release blog promises.

However it's important to remember that as a beta version of Chrome, this 64-bit release is likely far from stable.

If you do encounter any bugs you can let Google know on this Chromium code page.

In the meantime the less adventurous out there might want to wait for a full, official release of Google's 64-bit Chrome for Windows, which is more than likely right around the corner.

  • Explorers unite: read TechRadar's latest review of Google Glass

Return Path and ExactTarget's Marketing Cloud help optimize email marketing

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Return Path and ExactTarget's Marketing Cloud help optimize email marketing

Salesforce.com added new features to its ExactTarget Marketing Cloud Journey Builder tool. Among the new tools are maps that enable brands to plan customer interactions, triggers that enable brands to respond in real time to things like abandoned carts and affinity changes, and metrics that allow brands to test and optimize interactions.

I sat down with Matt Rausenberger, Senior Director of Channel Sales at Return Path, an email marketing intelligence company, to discuss the ways in which Journey Builder helps his business and his clients. Also joining Matt and me were Kent Ragen, VP of Channels at Return Path and Scott Roth, VP of Global Marketing at Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud.

TechRadar Pro: How long have you been working with SalesForce and ExactTarget?

Matt: We've been working together about six years, and more heavily the last 3.5 years. We've got our product integrated into their platform so that the customer can experience the product within the solution.

TRP: How does ExactTarget's Marketing Cloud help you provide better email intelligence to your clients?

Matt: After the email is delivered ExactTarget helps to provide the insight and the intelligence on how the consumer interacts with the message. We can then help our clients optimize the next sends to make them more effective to produce more traffic and more revenue.

TRP: Is it more about optimizing the immediate experience or providing data after the fact to make the next experience better?

Matt: We have data on the back-end more about the delivery of the message. We have our insight product that can be used as a strategy and planning tool to look at competitor programs and best practices for sending email. After the fact we can get more into deliverability. Did the message make it to the inbox or spam folder? We're tied in with both for ExactTarget.

TRP: How will the new Salesforce announcements help Return Path?

Matt: Journey Builder will be beneficial. We can be part of the journey and the back end. We will create apps that we will plug in for certain cases for specific journeys to acquire new customers, whose emails are typically wrought with deliverability issues. We can help them set goals and measure those goals over time. We're going to plug in really nicely and pick and choose what those goals are going to be.

Kent: Historically we've been active at the campaign or program level. With Journey Builder we're looking at one-to-one interactions to look at engagement on the one-to-one level.

TRP: Will this change how mobile email is sent?

Matt: We measure what device people read email on the most. We've found that more than 50% of emails are read on mobile. That data helps with the planning. [As a marketer],how will I optimize? How can I target email based on what they're reading?

TRP: How will wearable devices change the email marketing industry, and as a result, your business?

Matt: We've heard email is obsolete for years now but it's the center of the universe. Everything starts with email. It will continue to be important. Even journeys on wearables will start with email.

Kent: Our business is a data business. It's a question of protocols. Until SMS or some other new communication mechanism proves to be dominant over email our intention is to continue to build expertise [in email].

Matt: The inbox has your whole life in it. It's a big part where you get notices, shipping notices, purchases, transactions. We're monitoring all that now and providing that data back to marketers to be more effective.

Scott: In the past it's been all about execution. Looking great, rendering properly, getting into the inbox. Now we can help with strategy. Return Path's ability to have amazing data about the best and worst brands to help our clients build that email strategy is a game-changer.

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