IT'S FINALLY HERE: The Super Cheap iPad-Alternative Your Mom Will Love (BKS)

Despite a few initial glitches, the Nook Color update that went live on Monday, effectively turns the e-reader into a fully-functional Android tablet.

Not bad for $250.

Click here to see photos of the Nook Color running Android >

But despite the sweet price, don't expect the same performance or experience as you would from the more powerful Android tablets like the Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab. The Nook's relatively weak processor (800 MHz) has some difficulty keeping up with the operating system.

That being said, the Nook Color is still a great option for casual users. The first thing I thought after spending some time with it was "I bet my mom would love this."

If you only plan on doing simple web browsing, emailing, or gaming, the Nook Color may be a good choice for you.

Here's what I thought:

• When you first install the update, don't expect your typical Android layout. This is still a Nook, and it runs a heavily-modified version of Android 2.2. You probably won't even notice much has changed at first.

• The screen isn't as bright as the iPad or Xoom's but it does make it easier to use outdoors. Touch responsiveness is satisfactory, but not as good as other tablets I've used.

• The new web browser is a bit slow. Scrolling through web pages can be jerky, but I love that Barnes & Noble included Flash support. Videos look great.

• The email app is nothing flashy, but it gets the job done. I like that there aren't any complicated settings. Just log in with your Gmail or other account and the Nook handles the rest.

• The app selection is surprisingly good, considering you don't have access to the full Android Market. The average user will find everything he or she needs like RSS readers and casual games.

• I had some problems with rich games like Angry Birds. Animation stuttered, and Angry Birds completely froze the Nook one time when I tried playing it.

• The standard, preloaded apps work well. You get a media player, email, and Pandora right out of the box.

Again, this tablet isn't a powerhouse, and it shows in how it handles apps and web browsing. It's hardly a substitute for most tablets out there. But at half the price of the cheapest iPad, I think it's still a good option for casual users.

You can arrange apps any way you want on your home screen. They don't automatically lock into place, so its a bit awkward to line them up.

Here's a view of the bottom. There's a micro USB port and the "Nook Button" that returns you to the home screen.

There's a headphone jack at the top. Great for watching web videos in the browser.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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See Also:

• HTC DROID INCREDIBLE 2: A Nice Upgrade To One Of The Most Popular Android Phones Ever [UNBOXING]
• Uh Oh, Nook's Android Update Is Bricking Some Tablets*
• GADGET LOVERS: Here's Your Always Up-To-Date Product Release Guide For The iPhone 5 And More

IT'S FINALLY HERE: The Super Cheap iPad-Alternative Your Mom Will Love (BKS)

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THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Just How Cheap Is Google Stock Really? (GOOG)

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GOOG Up With The Market 

Stocks continue to add to morning gains, supported by a stronger-than-expected Consumer Confidence Index. Shares of GOOG are trading up between 30-40 basis-points, in line with the rest of tech. Upcoming catalysts include continued Android momentum; regaining ground in China and pushing into other emerging markets; updated software, adoption and media partners for Google TV; and progress in other newer initiatives (+1, location-based services, music-service, mapping, gaming, etc.). The stock trades at approximately 12x Enterprise Value / EBIT, inexpensive relative to peers and historical trading levels.

Motorola's Tablet Entry A Non-Starter And Honeycomb Is Crap (Fortune)
Global Equities analyst Trip Chowdry estimates that Motorola has sold somewhere between 25,000 and 120,000 Xoom tablets. That's not so good. He believes that the successful launch of the iPhone on Verizon has "taken the wind" out of Android's sails. The Google app store is "a disaster." Honeycomb, the operating system on which Motorola has hitched its wagon, is "incomplete," "unstable," has a "poor UI" and is basically "dead on arrival." Tell us what you really think Trip.

Google Extends Its Influence In Mobile (Seeking Alpha)
Who is the real device king in the smart phone industry? Google is in a unique position. Android is the hottest thing in the mobile phone market and arguably wields the greatest influence in the smart phone market today. The first Android device was released in late 2008, and the operating system took a modest 2% of market share in that year. Now, many reports indicate that Android is the number one operating system in the mobile market.

Google Should Continue To Spend To Thwart Off Competition And Remain On Top (Forbes)
The underlying factor that has been fueling constant growth for Google is innovation. Though some of its products haven’t garnered the desired turnout, this hasn’t stopped the company from experimenting. And why shouldn’t it? It has to fend off its market share from competing companies like Apple, Facebook and an onslaught of private companies. This is contrary to the opinion expressed last week by Mike Elgan at Datamation.

Google Acquires Customer Feedback System (TechCrunch)
Google has acquired TalkBin, a customer feedback system for local businesses. TalkBin offers a platform that lets customers give immediate feedback to local businesses. The five-month-old company was only founded as part of Y Combinator’s winter batch, so this is a ridiculously early exit. There are many similar start-ups, including Skweal and Tello. But then again, one of the founders is an ex-Googler.

Daily Trader: How Cheap Is Google? (Various)
The topic is valuation:

• Compare current valuations with the five-year averages for earnings and free cash flow, we see that Google has a P/E ratio of 30x and a five-year EV/FCF ratio of 25x. In the past five years, Google's net income margin has ranged from 19.6% to 29.0%. In that same time frame, unlevered free cash flow margin has ranged from 15.2% to 35.6%. Although not bargain-basement cheap on a multiples basis, Google's margins and growth profile help justify a premium.
• What are analysts' and hedge funds’ favorite stocks? The top of the list is dominated mainly by mega-cap technology stocks. Cisco, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Intel are extremely favored by hedge funds and Wall Street analysts. Unfortunately all of them had negative returns so far in 2011, but could end up outperforming the market over the next year or two.

For the latest tech news, visit SAI: Silicon Alley Insider. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Google's Biggest Mistakes With Android
• THE APPLE INVESTOR: iOS Activations Dominate The Enterprise
• Google Makes A Big Push Into Social Games

THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Just How Cheap Is Google Stock Really? (GOOG)

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Comment on The Future of Cheap Androids Begins Now by tom

a couple things: the US desperately needs virgin mobile style pricing on an operator with SIM cards. in most countries prepaid and SIM card swapping go hand in hand. or at least virgin mobile should start accepting used sprint phone on their network. the closest that we have here is simple mobile(a t-mobile MVNO) with a $60 unlimited everything, but we really need something like the virgin mobile $25 deal. now for the killer apps on this thing. VOIP over 3G to add unlimited voice. and since i bet a lot of the people buying this phone have limited home access to the internet the other killer app is tethering. lately i have been running a phone flashing business converting verizon and sprint phones to cricket and metroPCS. one thing that i can tell you is that on cricket the demand for tethering on android phones is absolutely enormous, in fact in a lot of the small cricket dealers this has become the main selling point and is often the only reason for the customer switching from a basic or feature phone. also for now it is the only way to get unlimited internet over cellular since the dedicated USB dongles and MiFi's are sold as metered buckets, but not the phone data plans.

Comment on The Future of Cheap Androids Begins Now by tom

Backlink: http://gigaom.com/mobile/cheap-android-smartphones/#comment-585498

Cheap Holidays in Greece: The Best Watersports Location

Greece is an ideal family holiday destination. With great sandy (and pebble) beaches, beautiful crystal clear water and luscious blue skies it really is a place that you need to visit at some point in your life. Its great for watersports activities t

Tags: travel and leisure

Post originale: http://www.blogcatalog.com/search/frame?term=location&id;=7860abca1662403322a3131ac6e6517f

Is Your Resume Selling You Like a Cheap Generic Brand?

by Scot Herrick

Resume writing is a learned skill. One of the first lessons to learn is that your resume is a marketing tool. As we all know, marketing is about selling something. In this case, the resume is selling your skills. Marketing looks to sell stuff to particular potential customers in different market segments. Generics push a market segment showing they are so much cheaper than name brands, while name brands market to an entirely different market to show how valuable they are.


Sadly, most resumes are selling you as the generic, cheaper brand rather than the powerhouse name brand. Let me show you how to commoditize your resume and get that generic brand rocking:

Talk Tasks, not Achievements

When you load up your resume with all those "responsible for" phrases, you are talking tasks, not achievements. What did you achieve with all those responsibilities anyway? If you were responsible for a software application, what were the business achievements of your responsibility?


Hundreds of people are responsible for the very things you're responsible for right now. Describing responsibilities makes your resume generic; your achievements build value around a name brand.

Write a Weak Career Summary Statement

Career summaries are what sum up your achievements and results, in a short paragraph near the top of your resume. It should be a story that has a beginning, middle and an idea of what you want to do to build the next chapter of your story.


Most career summaries read like Corporate Speak on steroids. We must Google "career summary statements" and copy them word for poorly chosen word right onto our resumes. Corporate Speak career summaries are generic and a dime a dozen. Career summaries that tell - and sell - your story is value branding at its best.

Make Your Resume's Visual Presentation Look Like Urban Graffiti

Looks shouldn't count, I will be told in the comments. It's your job skills that matter. But trust me, if your resume doesn't look polished - consistently formatted, no typos or misspellings, clean with lots of white space - you'll come across as a generic job applicant, someone who's a commodity rather than the real deal.


Have your resume look visually appealing and you immediately differentiate yourself from the generic brand, and create curiosity around the name brand.

We All Bring Name Brand Value to the Job

While we all bring name-brand value to the right job, our resumes too often market us as a commodity - a commodity that has the strategic value of the lowest price in the marketplace. I don't know about you, but I'd like to have my resume market me like the name brand. It will get me more interviews, which is exactly what resumes are supposed to do.


Are you a name brand job candidate shown through your resume? Or are you the generic job candidate, with your resume driving you to the cheapest price?

Scot Herrick is the author of I've Landed My Dream Job -Now What? and owner of Cube Rules, LLC. CubeRules.com. provides online career management training for workers who typically work in a corporate cubicle. Scot has a long history of management and individual contribution in multiple Fortune 100 corporations.

Post originale: http://career-resources.dice.com/articles/content/entry/is_your_resume_selling_you

Comment on Android Still on Top; Now Crushing BlackBerry by LG Optimus and the Rise of the Cheap Androids!: Tech News «

[...] That’s a potential issue for companies that have traditionally owned the feature phone market in countries around the globe. Google’s Android platform is making the move down into lower priced devices and if it can offer the smartphone experience at a feature phone price, its rising dominance as a platform will simply accelerate even faster. [...]

Post originale: http://gigaom.com/2010/11/01/android-still-on-top-now-crushing-blackberry/#comment-495627

The Radar: Subway History, Killing Gourmet, Cheap New England

• The New York Times has put together an impressive archival gallery of photos documenting the last 106 years of the New York City subway. [NYT]
  

• Did best-selling author Ann Patchett kill Gourmet magazine? The writer pens a tongue-in-cheek essay describing the good life while on assignment for the iconic, yet now-defunct magazine, and wonders whether it was her expense account that did them in. [WSJ]

• Looking to do visit New England this fall on the cheap? The Boston Globe has assembled a list of the top 25 things to do under $25 -- from hikes and train rides to the Head of the Charles. [Boston Globe]

Got Radar? Tag your favorite travel stories from the web #ngtradar and follow us on Twitter @NatGeoTraveler and @IntelligentTrav.

Post originale: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/10/the-new-york-times-has.html