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Apr 12
High-growth wireless charging market matures in 2016

The wireless charging receiver market grew more than 160% in 2015 over the previous year, as annual global shipments reached 144 million units.

Integrated receivers hit mainstream devices, and refinements to system design and diversification for various applications and power ratings is now driving the development of the technology. Annual shipment volume is expected to top one billion units by 2020 and two billion by 2025, according to IHS (www.ihs.com), a source of critical information and insight.

The mobile phone market remains the dominant force in overall shipments, led by the Samsung Galaxy smartphone series, which comes equipped with dual-mode Qi and Power-Matters-Alliance- (PMA-) certified low-frequency charging retained for this year’s S7 model.  IHS forecasts that 10% of smartphones shipped this year will be capable of wireless charging. 

Meanwhile wearables are already the second largest...

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Apr 11
52% of millennial smartphone owners use their device...

As consumer preferences and habits for smartphone usage continue to shift, millennials are driving the increased usage of video calling as a preferred application among smartphone users.

In fact, according to The NPD Group’s (www.npdgroup.com) “Connected Intelligence Application and Convergence Report,” more than half (52%) of smartphone users age 18-34 say they now use their smartphones to conduct video calls, representing an increase of 10 points year-over-year. In addition to video calling, smartphone users in the 18-34 age range also cited using their device for music and shopping as well as posting and viewing videos. In fact, many of these behaviors increased in prevalence among this user segment during the prior year, too.  

“Video calling, posting and watching video are more common among Millennial smartphone users than among any other age group,” noted John Buffone, executive director, Industry...

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Apr 08
Consumers happier with their wearable hardware than...

Wearable technology is evolving beyond wrist-worn devices to include shirts, tattoos, hats, shoes and more but what makes these devices useful is the actionable collected data.

A new report from Argus Insights (www.argusinsights.com) shows that consumers are much happier with their wearable devices than the apps they use to interpret the data they collect. Jawbone Up is leading delight as a great “all in one app,” but at the same time users express discontent with the Jawbone bands. Based on an analysis of over 136,000 consumer reviews of Wearables devices and applications from November 2015-February 2016, Argus Insights finds that users report higher delight for devices than brands’ associated apps.

“Clearly the app experience is affecting the long term efficacy of the wearables market,” said John Feland, CEO, Argus Insights. “Without interpretation of the data to inspire action and promote...

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Apr 07
Adoption of solid state drives to drive global 3D NAND...

Technavio (www.technavio.com) analysts predict the the global 3D NAND flash market will reach 8.78 billion units by 2019, growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 91.82%.

To calculate the market size, the research group considered unit shipments of smartphones, tablet personal computers (PCs), notebooks, smartcards, universal serial bus (USB), MP3s, and solid-state drives (SSDs) made to manufacturers.
3D NAND flash market at a glance

Technavio analysts predict the global 3D NAND flash market to grow at a fast pace during the projected period. The high market growth rate is attributed to increasing demand for high non-volatile memory in mobile devices and enterprise servers because of the following advantages: large memory storage, low power consumption, less space, and high speed.

Technavio hardware and semiconductor analysts highlight the following four factors that are...

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Apr 06
Now is the time for banks to make a play in the mobile...

As consumer awareness of mobile wallets has risen dramatically, financial institutions have a perfect opportunity to stake a claim in this market. As the barriers to wallet adoption drop, and issues with merchant adoption and consumer hesitation lessen, FI-branded wallets stand ready to reap the benefits.

The JAVELIN (www.javelinstrategy.com) research group has released a report and introduced JAVELIN’s S.C.O.R.E. wallet analysis model for assessing and comparing competing wallet providers. For the past two years, the consumer’s primary bank has topped the charts, as the wallet consumers would be most likely to adopt. However, as the vast majority of FIs sat on the sidelines, consumer preference has shifted. Now, PayPal (63%) and Visa (56%) have both surpassed the primary bank (51%) as the mobile wallet providers of choice.

“The customer relationship is the trump card that issuers have to...

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Apr 05
Usage of TV Everywhere reaches 40% of pay-TV consumers

New research from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that usage of authenticated video viewing, or TV Everywhere, reached 40% of U.S. pay-TV consumers in 2015, up from 22% in 2013. The data shows the percentage of respondents watching authenticated video at least once a month is 23%, which both broadens and deepens the online video audience for pay-TV providers.

"Content providers have been extremely aggressive in promoting their authenticated catch-up services, which is helping create traction for authenticated TV Everywhere services in the digital entertainment household," said Glenn Hower, research analyst, Parks Associates. "As usage increases, service providers and content companies alike will need to expand their big data capabilities, allowing them to create even more personalized services for their subscribers and viewers.”

Streaming and multiscreen usage have altered...

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Apr 04
70% of U.S. households with smart energy devices...

New data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that 70% of U.S. households with smart energy devices report saving money due to reduced energy consumption. However, the report also notes the difficulty of selling smart energy devices based on cost savings as 83% of U.S. broadband households do not know the price they are paying for electricity.

"Residential customers today see energy as a necessary expense, and while 62% of U.S. broadband households strongly believe that saving energy and lowering utility bills are important, getting them to pay for these benefits has proven difficult," said Eddie Accomando, research analyst, Parks Associates. "Electricity does not currently drive customer action, but as the process of energy production changes through DR, solar, and storage innovations, energy management will become a much more significant value-added service within the connected...

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Apr 01
The Northern Spy: Sweet Sorrow

Parting can be tough when you've had a faithful machine for so many years. But the old model 180 was getting long in tooth and was no longer reliable. True, some of the problems were mere cosmetic scuffs, but others ranged from annoyances that had to be worked around to serious impairment of functionality.

So, when the Spy's local dealer announced an introductory (and deeply discounted) sale on a brand new (to the frozen north; they'd already been selling in the land to our south) model X380, he decided to put the suction hose on his bank account and make it "out with the old, in with the new".

On short acquaintance, the new machine is wicked fast. The combination of wider bandwidth and some 22% more horsepower appears on first blush to increase throughput by nearly fifty percent, which has always got to be an important goal of so major a technology upgrade. Moreover, operating speed adjustments are automatic; the manufacturer no longer makes the old...

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Mar 30
Over 80% of smartphone users stream video

Eighty-one percent of all U.S. smartphone users now stream video on their devices, according to recently released data from The NPD Group. This usage is being driven primarily by users who are 25 and younger, who spend twice as much time watching video content on YouTube and Netflix mobile apps compared to users who are over the age of 25.

As a result of this uptick in video consumption, users who are 25 and younger outperform older age groups in terms of cellular and Wi-Fi data consumption levels generated by video applications. These users consume, on average, 6.2 GB of data (cellular and Wi-Fi combined) for video streaming purposes each month, versus older smartphone users who use an average of 4.9 GB of data for video streaming monthly.
 
And while the majority of video streaming occurs over Wi-Fi networks, smartphone users now rely on cellular data more than ever. According to the NPD Smartmeter, an opt-in metering application that tracks live smartphone and...

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Mar 30
Production printer market increases 5.2% year-over-year

The worldwide production print market increased 5.2% year over year in unit shipments in the fourth quarter of 2015 (4Q15) to approximately 10,700 units, according to the IDC (www.idc.com) research group. Unit shipment value increased 0.9% to nearly $1.3 billion in the same time period.

Six out of eight regional markets saw positive year-over-year unit growth in the production print space. Key contributors to the worldwide growth were Western Europe, which grew 10.4%, Japan (22.9%), and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) (6.4%).

Color laser grew by 19.1% on an annual basis. High-speed inkjet saw a 7.1% increase, while monochrome inkjet decreased by 8.7%.

"While production-class technologies saw an annual dip in the fourth quarter, 2015 showed itself to be a growth year for digital technologies. Digital vendors closed out the year of 2015 with 10% gains, with the highest increase coming from color laser, followed...

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Mar 29
Contactless usage soars as digital payment limits rise

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperrsearch.com) has found that hat the annual transaction value of online, mobile and contactless payments will reach $3.6 trillion this year, up from $3 trillion on 2015, resulting in a 20% increase.

The new research argues that the recent surge in contactless payments would continue, fueled by further scaling up of infrastructure rollout and increased card payment limits in key markets. The research group also anticipates that while cards will account for 90% of contactless payments over the next five years, the deployment of NFC (Near Field Communications) payments by high-profile players such as Apple and Samsung will increase consumer awareness and usage of smartphones to fulfill transactions.

Meanwhile, the research highlighted the growing presence of social media companies in the eRetail space. It pointed out that several leading companies,...

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Mar 28
Wearable devices are expected to reach 110 million...

Worldwide shipments of wearable devices are expected to reach 110 million by the end of 2016 with 38.2% growth over the previous year, according to IDC (www.idc.com).The Apple Watch will continue to dominate the smartwatch market, though sales may slow down as potential buyers and upgraders wait for the second iteration of the smartwatch, notes the research group.

IDC adds that Android Wear remains in second place as its list of partners grows and the platform further integrates into Google's larger ecosystem. However, Android smartwatches are expected to remain a small portion of the overall market.

IDC says an expanding lineup of vendors combined with fast-growing consumer awareness and demand will generate double-digit growth throughout the 2015-2020 forecast period, resulting in shipments of 237.1 million wearable devices in 2020. The research group adds that market will also be driven forward by the...

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Mar 25
Health monitoring device adoption to triple by 2020

New study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has estimated that the adoption of health monitoring devices will nearly treble by 2020, exceeding 70 million worldwide, up from an estimated 26 million this year.

The new research forecasts that the use of monitoring devices is set to witness a swift rise as new entrants gain FDA (Food & Drug Administration) approval. However, it highlights the need for new entrants to prove that their hardware is able to measure health indicators with the same accuracy as standard medical devices, according to the research.

Juniper argues that greater consumer affinity with connected monitoring devices will in turn be accompanied by an upsurge in the adoption of mobile and cloud health platforms such as Apple Health and Google Fit. What’s more, it claims that the “big data” collected by such monitoring devices presents a significant medium term...

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Mar 24
Wireless charger market to grow through 2020

The global wireless chargers market is expected to reach USD 9.36 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of more than 33%, according to Technavio’s (www.technavio.com) latest report.

The research group says the growing awareness of wireless power technology among consumers and increased adoption of wireless charging for industrial applications and in the healthcare sector drive the wireless chargers market, especially in the US. The increased concentration of leading suppliers of wireless charger ICs like Integrated Device Technology (IDT), Intel, and Qualcomm is a growth factor in the country.

Also, original equipment manufacturers in the US like Duracell Powermat are investing heavily in R&D projects that include providing wireless charging pads in public places such as shopping malls, metro stations, and restaurants. In the consumer electronics segment, vendors like Apple, Google, and Microsoft are...

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Mar 24
Global business tablet shipments to grow to 110...

As tablets continue to become more established workplace tools, the pressure on IT departments to enable the practice of BYOD and to ensure the enterprise has the infrastructure and policies in place to secure corporate data and systems, continues to grow. According to the Strategy Analytics Mobile Workforce Strategies (MWS) latest report, "Global Business Tablet Forecast Update Q4 2015", Strategy Analytics forecasts global business (personal and corporate liable) tablet shipments will grow at a 6% CAGR between 2015 and 2020, reaching 110.2 million units in 2020.

“While the tablet market overall has become somewhat saturated resulting in slowed growth, business tablet shipments are expected to be a bright spot and ramp up in the next several years as businesses shift computing models from PCs or laptops to 2-in-1 tablets. Partnerships forged by vendors such as Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and HP demonstrate how these players see the tablet potential in the Enterprise," said...

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Mar 23
Global gaming hardware market to each $140 billion by...

Jon Peddie Research (JPR), a research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, says global game hardware market will pass $140 billion in 2019.

The global PC gaming hardware market receded slightly in 2015 but, but less than the overall PC market, and will resume growth in 2016. However, all recession and growth within the market is not equal. JPR (www.jonpeddie.com)) believes that notebooks bought for gaming have entered a challenging sales environment as PC gamers gear up for the forthcoming mass market 4K/UHD development.

Ted Pollak, senior gaming analyst at JPR notes that Playstation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Wii-U will be the dominant platforms for hardcore console gamers. However, Android console offerings from Amazon, Google, and others are projected to grow at a much faster rate, and offer the casual to mid-core gamer an affordable way to play from the couch, he says.

Nvidia'...

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Mar 22
Internet of Things will place greater pressure on...

One of the hottest trends in tech right now is the Internet of Things, or IoT. Morgan Stanley projects that within the next five years, as many as 75 billion smart connected devices will be communicating with each other via IoT. Research from Gartner (www.gartner.com)predicts that IoT will generate nearly $2 trillion in global economic value by 2020.

Companies are scrambling to take advantage of the power of IoT, but are held back by aging systems that may no longer suited to the needs of modern consumers. In fact, another research report from Gartner suggests that as the Internet of Things (IoT) becomes more ubiquitous, traditional operating systems like Windows will become obsolete, placing greater value on speed and accessibility.

While IoT has been talked about for many years, it has only just started to gather momentum, as a series of new technologies reach sufficient maturity to make it cost-effective...

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Mar 21
PC market stabilization remains an elusive goal

The outlook for PC [personal computer] shipments continues to call for eventual stabilization as competition from other devices eases, upgrades to new models and Windows 10 boost demand, and economic conditions around the world stabilize or improve.

However, the decline in PC volume since early 2012 is still expected to linger through 2016 with later years struggling to boost volumes as economic issues and competing products continue to present headwinds, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

Expectations for the fourth quarter of 2015 and early 2016 were already fairly low as PCs have struggled with competition from tablets and phones as well as weak economic conditions for several years now, notes the research group. However, the impact of falling commodity prices and foreign currencies has further depressed demand, and the ability to upgrade older hardware to Windows 10 has provided an option to further stretch the life of older PCs.

...

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Mar 18
65% of broadband consumers engage in at least one...

New digital media research from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) finds 65% of U.S. broadband households engage in at least one second-second screen activity on at least a monthly basis. The report finds the most common activity is to search for information about the program being watched.

"Most consumers favor a passive second-screen experience that complements the already immersive first-screen experience versus the highly interactive apps that typified the first phase of second-screen solutions," says Glenn Hower, research analyst, Parks Associates. "Second-screen users are more likely to engage in supplemental activities, like looking up information while they watch TV, as opposed to social media activities. These types of apps open new partnership opportunities among content providers, data aggregators, advertisers, and service providers.”

Nineteen percent of pay-TV subscribers...

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Mar 17
Changes in the large format printer market are afoot

According to new data from the IDC research group (www.idc.com) the technology trends that are shaped by buyer demands are driving mix changes in the worldwide large format printer (LFP) market.

The move to color printing in the technical market and the need for faster turnaround in the graphics business has reshaped important segments of the large format printer business. Still, key technologies, such as eco-solvent inkjet, have continued to prosper.

“Overall, large format printer shipments declined by about 2% in 2015 with monochrome toner-based printers and conventional aqueous inkjet printer shipments slipping, but key areas of growth included eco-solvent, Latex, UV and color toner printers," said Tim Greene, research director, U.S. Large Format Printer Tracker

The large format CAD/Technical printer market segment declined by about 1.5% year over year in 2015, which is partly due to mix changes with the...

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Mar 16
App advertising to reach $44 billion by 2020

New data from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has found that app advertising, using context and location targeting, will exceed $44 billion by 2020, up from an estimated $13 billion last year.

As the mobile advertising landscape matures, the simple geofence is being usurped by contextual data such as a user’s interests, real-time location and even political leanings, according to the research group. The new data found that social applications are providing a highly accessible pool of rich user data for advertisers. Indeed, Facebook’s recent earnings call highlighted the tremendous growth opportunity of this sector, with North American ad revenues per user rising by 60% over the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, players such as Pinterest are developing tools that serve to reduce the intrusiveness of adverts, with user-friendly approaches seen as crucial in avoiding a rising tide of ad-...

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Mar 16
Rapid growth of 802.11ad WiGig expected in 2016

Products using the fastest available Wi-Fi, 802.11ad, will ship in a growing number of products this year, offering users wireless 4K UHD video streaming and file downloads at breathtaking speed, according to Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com).

New data from the research group lists the latest products using 802.11ad, and predicts rapid adoption of technology, also referred to as multi-gigabit Wi-Fi or WiGig. Thanks to an agreement between 802.11ad Wi-Fi chipset providers Qualcomm and Intel to collaborate on interoperability, devices shipping with 802.11ad this year should work together seamlessly, helping to stimulate demand.

"Applications of this technology include wireless docking, Cloud access, 4K video screen mirroring from mobile device to a big display, wireless VR and AR headsets with ultra-low latency, point-of-sale kiosks for downloading movies in a few seconds, and...

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Mar 15
Mobile payments growth finally on the horizon

Mobile payments made via NFC-enabled handsets will approach $240 billion in total value by 2021, according to a new Strategy Analytics (www.strategyanalytics.com) forecast.

Increasing competition between mobile wallets from device vendors Apple and Samsung, payment card issuers, and mobile operators, combined with a maturing contactless payment infrastructure across most regions, will finally catalyze in-store handset-based NFC purchases, according to the research group. Furthermore, Strategy Analytics expects consumer readiness to adopt mobile payments to improve as providers of mobile wallets increasingly support coupons and loyalty cards.

The research group is encouraged by rising use of contactless payments over the past 12 months, particularly in cities like London where the acceptance of contactless payments has become nearly ubiquitous. Nitesh Patel, director, Strategy Analytics'...

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Mar 14
17 million hybrid and electric vehicles will be on the...

A new study from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) forecasts that nearly 17 million hybrid and electric vehicles will be on the road by 2020, up from an estimated 12 million last year.

The research group believes that stakeholders primarily need to establish the viability and desirability of electric vehicles with consumers, and adopt an aggressive ‘go to market’ strategy that includes:

° The rolling out of a wide-scale public charging infrastructure – that is seen as both ongoing and committed.

° Conducting effective consumer education campaigns, with attractive incentives to change.

The new research found that electric car manufacturers are prioritizing ‘range’ as the key issue. Original equipment manufacturers, such as Tesla and Chevrolet understand that “range anxiety” is the greatest hindrance to the adoption of electric vehicles. In order to meet the expectations...

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Mar 11
33% of U.S. broadband households own one or more...

Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) has released new research showing connected health device ownership (including digital fitness trackers, networked weight scales, connected treadmills, and blood pressure meters) has risen from 24% to 33% of U.S. broadband households between 2013 and 2015 The research group also notes that 13% of U.S. broadband households own two or more connected health devices.

Adoption of wearables and connected health devices is growing, evidenced by the stellar growth achieved by Fitbit in 2015, according to Harry Wang, director, Health and Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates. The health and wellness industry is also speeding up its pace of innovation. For example, at the 2016 HIMSS Annual Conference & Exhibition this week, AT&T announced partnerships with health and wearable players including Becton Dickinson, WellNest, and OneMedia.

"While...

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Mar 10
Gartner: 43% of organizations to implement IoT of...

The Internet of Things (IoT) will move toward mainstream adoption in 2016 for many industries, according to the findings of a recent survey by Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com). The online survey was conducted in November 2015 among Gartner Research Circle Members and included responses from 465 IT and business professionals spanning 18 business sectors in North America, EMEA, Asia/Pacific and Latin America. 

Although less than a third (29%) of responding organizations are currently using IoT, an additional 14%) are planning to implement IoT in the coming 12 months, with an additional 21 %planning to implement after 2016. In other words, the number of organizations adopting IoT will grow 50% in 2016, reaching 43% of organizations overall. In aggregate, the majority of organizations (64%) plan to eventually implement IoT. However, it is also important to note that another 38% have no plans to implement IoT, including...

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Mar 09
Cloud security both a benefit and cause for concern...

Medium and large enterprises in the US have mixed feelings about cloud infrastructure security, according to a new survey conducted by Clutch (clutch.co), a B2B research firm. While 22% of enterprises ranked security the number one cloud computing benefit, 31% also identified security as the most prevalent challenge.

When compared to older legacy systems, the majority of enterprises (64%) agree that cloud infrastructure is more secure. They cite cloud infrastructure's sophisticated monitoring systems, multi-layered security safeguards, and central management as the main reasons they consider it a more secure option.

"Using the Cloud is like putting your money in the bank versus under your mattress," said David Linthicum, senior vice president of Cloud Technology Partners. "Even though your money, or data, is not on-premise, the bank will do a much better job protecting it because it has vaults and security cameras – more than what a single enterprise company can do...

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Mar 08
Study links game-based learning to increased student...

Toolwire, a Silicon Valley-based digital courseware developer, has released results from a group of 14 faculty who piloted the Toolwire Writing Games during the fall 2015 semester with over 1,000 students, primarily in developmental and introductory composition courses.

With faculty reporting persistent gaps between student writing abilities and the demands of college-level work, the Writing Games introduce an engaging digital courseware intervention to help students succeed in basic writing courses.  The research report (http://www.toolwire.com/writinggamespilot2015/) documents faculty and student reactions based on over 530,000 minutes of student usage at institutions including several campuses within the Maricopa, Lone Star, and Colorado Community College systems as well as faculty from the California State University and City University of New York (CUNY)...

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Mar 07
Spending on movies, TV shows declines when Netflix is...

New research from the IHS research group (www.ihs.com) shows (not surprisingly) that spending on movies, TV shows declines when Netflix is available.

Before Netflix launched its streaming service in the USA in 2007, spending on buying and renting movies and TV series on disc was falling by an average of 1.2% a year. Since 2010, the year in which Netflix access became ubiquitous across the US consumer electronics sector, spending has fallen by an average of 10.3 percent a year.

“The data shows that Netflix’s entry into a market has a noticeable effect on consumer behavior, even in countries where they already had access to other streaming video services,” said Helen Davis Jayalath, senior researcher at IHS Technology. “Movies and TV shows are not only the biggest draw for Netflix subscribers, they are also the backbone of the home entertainment industry, generating 80% to 90% of the business in most countries.”

... | Read more »
Mar 04
ON World: cloud-connected smart homes to create a $28...

Smart home system installations nearly doubled last year as millions of early adopters purchased devices that were cloud connected, according to a recently published report by global technology research firm ON World (www.onworld.com).

Cloud platforms combined with consumer-driven wireless sensing and control standards have made this possible.  This growth is coming from multiple channels and increasingly through bundled offerings by IP security, cable/MSO and telecom service providers. 

"The retail channel is growing the fastest as technology-driven consumers use the Web and YouTube to configure and install devices into their smart homes," says Mareca Hatler, ON World's research director.  "Our demographic research shows that millennials want smarter homes for safety and security and baby boomers want to use it for elderly care and home energy management.”

ON World's January 2016 survey of 1,000 U.S...

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Mar 03
IDC: spending on robotics to reach $135 billion in 2019

IDC (www.idc.com) has identified robotics as one of six innovation accelerators that will drive digital transformation by opening new revenue streams and changing the way work is performed.

In a new report, the research group forecasts global spending on robotics and related services to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17% from more than $71 billion in 2015 to $135.4 billion in 2019. The new spending guide measures purchases of robotic systems, system hardware, software, robotics-related services, and after-market robotics hardware on a regional level across thirteen key industries and fifty-two use cases.

"Robotics is one of the core technologies that is enabling significant change in manufacturing through factory of the future initiatives. While traditionally used in the automotive industry, there is an increasing adoption of robotics in sectors like electronics, retail, healthcare, logistics,...

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Mar 02
Adoption of broadband connectivity fuels growth of IoT

Global adoption of broadband connectivity is fueling the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT); the number of broadband households will total nearly 975 million households by 2019, with over 50% in China, according to new data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com).

In North America and Western Europe, 50% of broadband households own at least one connected entertainment device, smartphone, or tablet, adds the research group. Asia-Pacific will achieve 50% adoption rates of these devices by 2018.
Connected wearable devices are predicted to reach 50% adoption among broadband households in North America by 2018 and in Western Europe by 2019.  

"Consumers are embracing connected devices, and companies are looking to expand their presence in the IoT," said Stuart Sikes, president, Parks Associates. "Parks Associates' research examines the evolution of IoT and how the concept of the...

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Feb 29
The Northern Spy: what has truth got to do with it?

This column is being (metaphorically) penned on Leap Day, a day similar to Sadie Hawkins Day (November 13) in which historically the ladies may ask the men without violating polite norms--hardly an issue in our day, though originally somewhat sexist.

It's also sprang in the middle of the great American ask/catch--candidates trolling for primary votes, while the rest of the world watches a system seemingly self-destruct in vitriol, venom, slander, and name calling. Ahem. wasn't democracy supposed to be about the respectful examination of ideas? Alas, the Spy himself knows better, having himself attended a High School--so long ago it seems like another age--where debating was one a blood sport.

So, he knows all the tricks--ad hominem attacks, redefine the topic, use ridicule and mockery, call out grammatical and word use errors as though fatal--anything to win, because in debating, winning is everything. Truth? Are you kidding? What has truth got to do with it? You...

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Feb 26
In-flight mobile roaming revenues to reach $3 billion...

A new report from Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) has valued operator in-flight roaming revenues at nearly $3 billion by 2020, doubling the value estimated for this year. This figure includes mobile voice, data and SMS.

However, in terms of total operator billed mobile roaming revenues, in-flight roaming will only represent around 5% of revenues globally by 2020. The new research noted that these revenues will largely be driven by increasing data usage while on-board an aircraft. It argued that these would primarily stem from consumers being attracted by a combination of price reductions –the result of reduced retail roaming charges – and an increase in the availability of higher speed data services (2.5G to 3G & 4G).

Unsurprisingly, the increasing number of service introductions by airlines has translated into an increasing number of active users over the past 12 months,...

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Feb 25
Over 30% of U.S. broadband households not interested...

A new report from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that that almost 70% of U.S. broadband households express interest in Wi-Fi-based mobile service plans if such plans can save them money. Among those having no interest, 38% perceive that Wi-Fi connections are unsafe and their data would be vulnerable to hacking. Nearly 40% aren't interested because they are satisfied with their current mobile phone plan.

"Mobile consumers are always looking for reliable service coverage, faster data speeds, and a service plan with the best value," said Harry Wang, director, Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates. "Wi-Fi-based mobile service plans provide consumers with alternatives to 3G/4G services, and mobile operators need to look out for disruptors."

Despite substantial consumer interest, Wi-Fi-based mobile phone services need to overcome significant hurdles, specifically...

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Feb 24
Internet security market predicted to reach $46.5...

The world Internet security market is expected to garner $46.5 billion by 2021, registering a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 8.4% from 2016 to 2021, according to Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com).

Increasing usage of Internet across every sector has increased the vulnerability of virus attacks, spams and others, which could severely impact system functionality and business operations, according to the research group. Several sectors, such as finance, infrastructure, transportation, telecommunication, and defense and research institutes, have become the prime targets of the cyber-attacks.

Internet security solutions protect computing systems to ensure flawless execution of operations and prevent damage and loss that might arise from any kind of cyber-attack. The Research and Markets report presents a detailed view on the world Internet security market. The market...

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Feb 23
Worldwide IT spending expected to post ‘significant...

Worldwide IT spending is expected to post a major slowdown in 2016, as economic weakness in emerging markets and saturation of the smartphone market combine to result in a significantly slower pace of tech spending growth compared to the past six years, according to the IDC research group (www.idc.com).

Having posted annual growth of 5-6% in constant currency terms since recovery from the financial crisis in 2010, the global IT market is expected to increase by just 2% this year (in constant currency). Total IT spending on hardware, software and services will reach $2.3 trillion in 2016. Including telecom services, total ICT spending will increase by 2% to $3.8 trillion, according to the latest data from IDC.

IT spending was relatively stable in 2015, in spite of the volatile economy, propelled by another strong year for smartphone shipments, which compensated for a weakening PC market throughout the year....

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Feb 22
Canalys: over 1.5 billion smart phones to ship...

Canalys’ (www.canalys.co) recently published country-level forecasts predict that over 1.5 billion smart phones will ship in 2016. Despite turbulence for certain vendors and countries, the industry will still grow by over 10% this year thanks to new opportunities. The research group estimates total worldwide mobile phone shipments of just under two billion units with the smart phone share at 77%.

Industry growth is decelerating, making it a much tougher environment for vendors. In the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2015 in Asia Pacific, the total mobile phone market shrunk annually for the first time ever, with shipments decreasing by 2% to reach a total of 263 million units. In China, total mobile phone shipments reached 117 million units, with year-on-year growth of 3% in Q4 2015. Smart phones grew 5% annually as vendors such as Xiaomi and Huawei released new devices. Smart phone shipment growth in Asia also came from...

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Feb 22
25% of mobile apps reportedly have at least one...

NowSecure (www.nowsecure.com), which specializes in mobile-focused security solutions, has revealed the results of its highly anticipated 2016 NowSecure Mobile Security Report – offering a detailed look into the current state of mobile security.

Statistics from the report included that a quarter of all mobile apps have at least one high risk security flaw, 35% of communications sent by mobile devices are unencrypted, and the average mobile device connects to 160 unique servers each day.

The report featured findings from five popular app categories: Business, Finance, Games, Shopping, and Social. NowSecure found that Business apps are three times more likely to leak login credentials than the average app, while Game apps are one-and-a-half times more likely to include a high-risk vulnerability than the average app.

“Leaky apps are the number one security problem facing mobile users today. They...

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Feb 19
IDC: Federal government to spend 8.5% of all IT...

Cloud spending represents about 8.5% of all IT spending by the federal government for fiscal year 2016 (FY16), according to a new report from IDC Government Insights (www.idc.com). That represents a significant increase from the roughly 5% dedicated to cloud in fiscal year 2015 (FY15).

In a new report, “Federal Cloud Growth Is Substantial Through 2019, But Provider Landscape Is in Flux,” author Shawn P. McCarthy examines the impact of ongoing efforts by the U.S. Federal CIO Council and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to get government agencies to move some types of IT systems to the cloud — particularly new systems, stored data, and mobile solutions — as the use of cloud-based solutions continues to grow in the U.S. federal government.

According to the report, federal cloud spending for FY15 actually came in at more than double what the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) originally predicted when the...

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Feb 18
40% of UK broadband consumers likely to adopt smart...

New consumer research from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that in the next 12 months, over 40% of U.K. broadband consumers are likely to adopt new connected devices, including smart door locks, sensors, and security cameras, as part of a home security or control system that can be monitored or controlled by a smartphone, tablet, or computer.

The research firm’s report also found that ownership of home control systems is 10% of broadband households in France and Spain, 8% in Germany, and 11% in the U.K.

"Consumer intention to purchase devices and integrate them into home systems continues to be a growing trend across Western Europe," said Jason Paris, director, Business Development, Parks Associates. "Mass-market smart home products and services are now available through numerous channels, including security dealers, telecoms, and retail stores, and both mass-market and...

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Feb 17
Juniper Research announces top disruptive technologies...

Juniper Research (www.juniperrsearch.com) has revealed the top technologies that it believes will do the most to transform e-commerce this year. Leading the list are biometrics, federated identify, and tokenization.

The research group concludes that the technology making the biggest difference to “payment completion” today is biometrics, largely thanks to the proliferation of fingerprint readers in smartphones due to the use of biometric authentication in both Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Juniper argues that use cases and deployments will proliferate in the short and medium term.

Behind biometrics is federated ID, which provides merchants with the ability to gather information on customers in a click – rather than asking them to fill out long forms. Juniper observed that Facebook, Google and LinkedIn dominate this area at present, but expects new entrants such as banks, telcos and even...

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Feb 16
Cards linked to mobile apps see rise in activity rates

A new study by Juniper Research (www.juniperresearch.com) found that more than three billion loyalty cards will operate as mobile-only or be integrated into mobile apps by 2020, up from 1.4 billion last year.

The new research found that brands and retailers are increasingly responding to consumer demand for mobile integration, with many now offering customers the opportunity to store their loyalty cards within a dedicated digital wallet. Crucially, the research argued that the improved targeting and personalization made possible by digital coupons was leading to greater activity rates, thereby resolving a key failing of traditional schemes where the lack of relevant offers had resulted in a downturn in usage.

However, the data from Juniper Research found wide variations among retailers and other reward card providers with regard to the extent of digital loyalty integration. In the UK, the...

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Feb 15
35% of U.S. broadband households would participate in...

New data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows 35% of U.S. broadband households would participate in an energy program advertised by a security provider. Consumers are 40% more likely to participate in an energy program if it is offered by a security provider than an energy provider.

"Security providers have an opportunity to capitalize on their strong connections with their consumers by expanding into energy management programs," Tom Kerber, Parks Associates’s director of research, Energy and Home Controls, said. "They can also leverage their strong reputation with consumers to forge beneficial partnerships with utilities that want to leverage connected devices in the home."

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Feb 12
Internet security market may hit $46.5 billion by 2021

A new report by Allied Market Research (www.alliedmarketresearch.com) says the world Internet security market is expected to garner $46.5 billion by 2021, registering a CAGR [compound annual growth rate] of 8.4% from 2016 to 2021.

The market is driven by the huge demand for Internet security software solutions due to the increasing number of cyber-attacks and the adoption of cloud-based Internet security systems, according to the research firm. Increasing use of Internet-based applications across various sectors, such as education, government, retail, IT & telecommunications, BFSI and others, make them prone to virus and spam attacks.

According to McAfee, in 2014, cybercrimes, such as unethical hacking, botnets, distributed denial of services (DDoS), malware, spyware, spams, viruses, and other threats, caused a loss of $400 billion, worldwide. Increasing incidence of security...

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Feb 11
Over 90% of smart thermostat, door lock, and sprinkler...

New data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) reveals that 19% of U.S. broadband households currently own at least one Internet-connected smart home device.

These devices, including smart thermostats, sprinkler systems, door locks, and security cameras, offer remote control, monitoring, or notifications via a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Upwards of 90% of device owners use mobile apps to access cloud-supported services associated with their devices, according to the research group.

"IoT cloud platforms offer device makers and companies the opportunity to greatly expand the value of a product or service, and consumers are responding," said Brad Russell, research analyst, Parks Associates. "Cloud-based services also create unique new service partnerships, such as the automated guest-entry system in the RemoteLock from smart door lock maker LockState. This solution will be...

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Feb 10
Study: retailers’s mobile capabilities lag customer...

Retailers are failing to meet consumer demand for increased convenience while shopping with mobile devices, according to new research from Accenture, which conducted two pieces of research: the Accenture Adaptive Retail report, which surveyed more than 10,000 consumers across 13 countries; and a separate benchmarking study that evaluated a global sample of 162 retailers in 10 countries across multiple industries. 

Taken together, the research findings highlight the need for retailers to become more adaptive in order to embrace and achieve the connected and integrated shopping experience that consumers seek. The consumer survey found that the number of consumers shopping “on the go,” with mobile devices, grew 10% in the past year, from 36% of consumers in 2014 to 40% in 2015. 

Not surprisingly, the number of shoppers who want more retail services via mobile devices, particularly real-time in-store promotions, also grew this past year, to 47%, up from 40% in last year’s...

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Feb 09
Gartner: worldwide wearables device sales to grow 18.4%

Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com) forecasts that 274.6 million wearable electronic devices will be sold worldwide in 2016, an increase of 18.4% from 232.0 million units in 2015.

Sales of wearable electronic devices will generate revenue of $28.7 billion in 2016. Of that, $11.5 billion will be from smartwatches.

"From 2015 through 2017, smartwatch adoption will have 48 percent growth largely due to Apple popularizing wearables as a lifestyle trend. Smartwatches have the greatest revenue potential among all wearables through 2019, reaching $17.5 billion," said Angela McIntyre, research director at Gartner. "Though the sales of smartwatches are the one of the strongest types of wearables, their adoption will remain much below sales of smartphones. For example, in 2016 more than 374 million smartphones will sell in mature market countries and in large urban areas of emerging market countries, for example, in Hong...

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Feb 08
40% of U.S. health care providers’ IT budgets are...

A new report from IDC (www.idc.com) examining the results of the “2015–2016 Healthcare Provider Technology Spend Survey” reveals that while 40% of providers reported their IT budgets are still growing, only 25% of providers with growing budgets attribute the growth to electronic health records (EHR), providing evidence that the post-EHR era is upon us as providers turn to optimizing the business for accountable care, adding analytics and care management, and away from massive enterprise EHR projects.

The new survey specifically examines technology spending and planned technology spending by U.S. acute care hospitals with more than 200 beds. The results indicate that we are at the beginning of the post-EHR/post–meaningful use era in healthcare IT. The hospitals responding to the survey overwhelmingly reported confidence in their ability to manage meaningful use. Hospitals were somewhat less confident in their ability to...

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Feb 05
Gartner: cloud email gaining traction among global...

The cloud email market is still in the early stages of adoption with 13% of identified publicly listed companies globally using one of the two main cloud email vendors, according to Gartner, Inc. (www.gartner.com).

A recent study by the research group found that 8.5 percent of public companies in the sample use cloud email from Microsoft's Office 365 service, while 4.7% use Google Apps for Work. The remaining 87% of companies surveyed have on-premises, hybrid, hosted or private cloud email managed by smaller vendors. 

These are the findings of a Gartner research study based on an automated examination of a large number of publicly available email routing records. The research group used the email server addresses in the domain records of nearly 40,000 public companies globally, to find out which ones point to cloud email services from Google or Microsoft. 

"Although it is still early days for cloud...

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Dropbox is a file hosting service that provides cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software. It is a modern workspace that allows you to get to all of your files, manage... Read more
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Google Chrome is a Web browser by Google, created to be a modern platform for Web pages and applications. It utilizes very fast loading of Web pages and has a V8 engine, which is a custom built... Read more
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Skype is a telecommunications app that provides HD video calls, instant messaging, calling to any phone number or landline, and Skype for Business for productive cooperation on the projects. This... Read more
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Using Tor Browser you can protect yourself against tracking, surveillance, and censorship. Tor was originally designed, implemented, and deployed as a third-generation onion-routing project of the U.... Read more
Deeper 3.0.4 - Enable hidden features in...
Deeper is a personalization utility for macOS which allows you to enable and disable the hidden functions of the Finder, Dock, QuickTime, Safari, iTunes, login window, Spotlight, and many of Apple's... Read more
OnyX 4.5.5 - Maintenance and optimizatio...
OnyX is a multifunction utility that you can use to verify the startup disk and the structure of its system files, to run miscellaneous maintenance and cleaning tasks, to configure parameters in the... Read more
Hopper Disassembler 5.14.1 - Binary disa...
Hopper Disassembler is a binary disassembler, decompiler, and debugger for 32- and 64-bit executables. It will let you disassemble any binary you want, and provide you all the information about its... Read more

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Zenless Zone Zero opens entries for its...
miHoYo, aka HoYoverse, has become such a big name in mobile gaming that it's hard to believe that arguably their flagship title, Genshin Impact, is only three and a half years old. Now, they continue the road to the next title in their world, with... | Read more »
Live, Playdate, Live! – The TouchArcade...
In this week’s episode of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off by talking about all the games I splurged on during the recent Playdate Catalog one-year anniversary sale, including the new Lucas Pope jam Mars After Midnight. We haven’t played any... | Read more »
TouchArcade Game of the Week: ‘Vroomies’
So here’s a thing: Vroomies from developer Alex Taber aka Unordered Games is the Game of the Week! Except… Vroomies came out an entire month ago. It wasn’t on my radar until this week, which is why I included it in our weekly new games round-up, but... | Read more »
SwitchArcade Round-Up: ‘MLB The Show 24’...
Hello gentle readers, and welcome to the SwitchArcade Round-Up for March 15th, 2024. We’re closing out the week with a bunch of new games, with Sony’s baseball franchise MLB The Show up to bat yet again. There are several other interesting games to... | Read more »
Steam Deck Weekly: WWE 2K24 and Summerho...
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. The busy season has begun with games we’ve been looking forward to playing including Dragon’s Dogma 2, Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition, and also console exclusives like Rise of the... | Read more »
Steam Spring Sale 2024 – The 10 Best Ste...
The Steam Spring Sale 2024 began last night, and while it isn’t as big of a deal as say the Steam Winter Sale, you may as well take advantage of it to save money on some games you were planning to buy. I obviously recommend checking out your own... | Read more »
New ‘SaGa Emerald Beyond’ Gameplay Showc...
Last month, Square Enix posted a Let’s Play video featuring SaGa Localization Director Neil Broadley who showcased the worlds, companions, and more from the upcoming and highly-anticipated RPG SaGa Emerald Beyond. | Read more »
Choose Your Side in the Latest ‘Marvel S...
Last month, Marvel Snap (Free) held its very first “imbalance" event in honor of Valentine’s Day. For a limited time, certain well-known couples were given special boosts when conditions were right. It must have gone over well, because we’ve got a... | Read more »
Warframe welcomes the arrival of a new s...
As a Warframe player one of the best things about it launching on iOS, despite it being arguably the best way to play the game if you have a controller, is that I can now be paid to talk about it. To whit, we are gearing up to receive the first... | Read more »
Apple Arcade Weekly Round-Up: Updates an...
Following the new releases earlier in the month and April 2024’s games being revealed by Apple, this week has seen some notable game updates and events go live for Apple Arcade. What The Golf? has an April Fool’s Day celebration event going live “... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Apple Education is offering $100 discounts on...
If you’re a student, teacher, or staff member at any educational institution, you can use your .edu email address when ordering at Apple Education to take $100 off the price of a new M3 MacBook Air.... Read more
Apple Watch Ultra 2 with Blood Oxygen feature...
Best Buy is offering Apple Watch Ultra 2 models for $50 off MSRP on their online store this week. Sale prices available for online orders only, in-store prices may vary. Order online, and choose... Read more
New promo at Sams Club: Apple HomePods for $2...
Sams Club has Apple HomePods on sale for $259 through March 31, 2024. Their price is $40 off Apple’s MSRP, and both Space Gray and White colors are available. Sale price is for online orders only, in... Read more
Get Apple’s 2nd generation Apple Pencil for $...
Apple’s Pencil (2nd generation) works with the 12″ iPad Pro (3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th generation), 11″ iPad Pro (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation), iPad Air (4th and 5th generation), and iPad mini (... Read more
10th generation Apple iPads on sale for $100...
Best Buy has Apple’s 10th-generation WiFi iPads back on sale for $100 off MSRP on their online store, starting at only $349. With the discount, Best Buy’s prices are the lowest currently available... Read more
iPad Airs on sale again starting at $449 on B...
Best Buy has 10.9″ M1 WiFi iPad Airs on record-low sale prices again for $150 off Apple’s MSRP, starting at $449. Sale prices for online orders only, in-store price may vary. Order online, and choose... Read more
Best Buy is blowing out clearance 13-inch M1...
Best Buy is blowing out clearance Apple 13″ M1 MacBook Airs this weekend for only $649.99, or $350 off Apple’s original MSRP. Sale prices for online orders only, in-store prices may vary. Order... Read more
Low price alert! You can now get a 13-inch M1...
Walmart has, for the first time, begun offering new Apple MacBooks for sale on their online store, albeit clearance previous-generation models. They now have the 13″ M1 MacBook Air (8GB RAM, 256GB... Read more
Best Apple MacBook deal this weekend: Get the...
Apple has 13″ M2 MacBook Airs available for only $849 today in their Certified Refurbished store. These are the cheapest M2-powered MacBooks for sale at Apple. Apple’s one-year warranty is included,... Read more
New 15-inch M3 MacBook Air (Midnight) on sale...
Amazon has the new 15″ M3 MacBook Air (8GB RAM/256GB SSD/Midnight) in stock and on sale today for $1249.99 including free shipping. Their price is $50 off MSRP, and it’s the lowest price currently... Read more

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