E-Readers Need to Sell at $50 for Mass Appeal, Says Report
E-Readers need to be priced not more than $50 if they are to have a mass-market appeal, according to a survey conducted by Forrester Research.
Most of the E-readers in the current market like Amazon’s Kindle or the Sony Reader are priced way above. Sony’s new Pocket Reader for instance costs $199 while Amazon recently cut the price of Kindle 2 to $299.
Analysts with Forrester Research say the main problem lies in the high cost of production of e-readers which pushes up retail prices. A six-inch e-ink screen will alone come at a price of $60 while larger displays will cost more. The report suggests that e-reader manufacturers explore innovative methods of bringing costs down like tying up with newspapers and magazines to offer content or service subscription. This will be in line with subscription models already adopted by wireless carriers and mobile phone producers.
Another problem in making e-readers cost effective is that there are not enough consumers who would be so interested in reading and technology as to agree to pay inflated prices for such single-purpose devices. However even though manufacturers are able to marginally bring down prices of e-readers, the Forrester report believes that it will still take a long time to turn it into a mass-market product like an MP3-player.
Now, Google needs an ad campaign too!
After being a synonym for ‘search’ one finds it hard to digest the fact that Google is looking for publicity and that too through an ad campaign!
It’s true! Also because after being associated with the ‘search industry’ for so long and consistently, Google is finding it hard to promote other products!
Google Inc., the search engine giant, leasing billboards along major highways in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston this month to promote a bundle of business applications that sells for $50 per worker annually.
As a part of the campaign, a new message will be on display each weekday through August, starting Monday morning.
Google came up with its ‘apps’ package in 2007. However, the cmapny recently rea;lised that its other products need high intensity publicity. As the director of sales and operations for Google’s enterprise division in North America, Michael Lock points out, ‘‘People don’t necessarily think of Google when it comes to how we can help companies.’’
However, the managing director of the company’s creative labs, Andy Berndt added, that as of now, Google doesn’t plan to advertise in other media like magazines, newspapers, television or radio.
TD Canada Trust Kitchener Blues Festival Starts from Next Week
The Canadian town of Kitchener is all set to host its annual Blues Festival around six days from now. The festival will continue for four days from August 6th to 9th and is slated to feature nearly 70 shows by 40 bands.
The TD Canada Trust Kitchener Blues Festival will kick off on Wednesday with a Fundraising Gala followed by dinner and performances by Julian Fauth on the Grand Piano and then an entertaining show by Daddy Long Legs. The next four days will see more than 70 shows on five venues which are the Main Stage, the downtown Big Tent, the Waterloo region Record Market Stage, the Boathouse Workshop stage, the Children’s stage at the Children Museum and the 12 Bar Blues.
The history of the Kitchener Blues Festival goes back to 2001 when the inaugural festival took place on August 18, at the Kitchener City Hall. It featured around six hours of blues with a performance by the city’s own Mel Brown. From then on each year of the festival saw bigger crowds and more famous line-ups.
Kitchener is located in southwestern Ontario and less than one hour’s drive from west of Toronto, the largest city in Canada. To put up, go through www.ooaha.com which has the cheapest Kitchener hotel deals.
Travel Through the Loneliest Road in America
One of the most exciting ways to discover the vast landscape of the Wild West is to travel by road. However if that road happens to be the Highway 50 through Nevada in United States, the experience becomes all the more memorable since it is known as the loneliest road in the country.
The 287 miles of Highway 50 pose an interesting challenge to any motorist for it means driving through deserted villages and dreary gas stations. In the beginning of twentieth century however this used to be a very busy since it was one of the earliest roads to run from coast to coast. But a series of misfortunes like fires and mining slumps turned many of the places along the Highway 50 into ghost towns.
Driving through the Highway 50 can be a surreal experience as abandoned buildings, old churches and near-empty bars pass along. The Nevada Commission on Tourism in fact rewards its travelers with a certificate which declares, “I survived Highway 50”. However to attain this, travelers have to stop in the towns of Fern, Ely, Eureka, Fallon and Austin to get their Official Highway 50 Survival Guide validated and stamped by locals.
Along The Highway 50 travelers can stop by Ely to take in the sights and sounds of this place. For best Ely hotel deals in one can check out www.ooaha.com.
Herge Museum Showcases Life and Works of Famous Artist
Among the many attractions Belgium boasts of is a museum dedicated to the life and works of the famous illustrator Herge, best known as the creator of the boy-reporter character Tintin.
The Herge Museum is actually located in the small town of Louvaine-la-Neuve which is around 30 kilometers from the Belgian capital city of Brussels. The Museum is a repository of the works of famous Belgian artist whose real name was Georges Remi and who created the comic series of Tintin and his adventures. Spread over 3600 meters square the Museum not only houses drawings, sketches and printed plates by Herge but also shows his development as an artist through his works.
The Herge Museum has been designed by well known French architect Christian de Portzamparc and is a marvel of contemporary design befitting to the memory of a visionary artist. Its construction was in fact privately funded by Fanny Rodwell, Herge’s widow who contributed twenty million dollars needed to build the Museum. Besides showcasing Herge’s work the Museum also houses temporary as well as permanent exhibition areas, studio storehouses, shops, a video projection room and a cafeteria.
To visit the Herge Museum, one can take a train or bus from Brussels. Visitors from foreign countries can also check out www.ooaha.com for best Brussels hotel deals.
New Zealand’s Volcanic Landscape
Travel portals describe New Zealand as the youngest country on earth since it was the last landmass to be discovered and people started arriving on it only a thousand years ago. Yet this country boasts of spectacular landscapes and is a favored destination for nature lovers.
One striking aspect of the diverse New Zealand landscape is its volcanic feature. Lying on the southern tip of the Pacific Rim of Fire, New Zealand has been shaped by volcanic activity which is evident in its peaks, craters, springs and lakes. One of the country’s largest cities, Auckland, is in fact built on volcanic fields. It is dotted with around 50 volcanic cones and though all of them today lie dormant, some of the neighboring paths and hill slopes are still warmed by underlying thermal activity.
One of Auckland’s famous landmarks, the Rangitoto Island, owes its origin to volcanic activity. Though lying dormant now, Rangitoto’s landscape is witness to its fiery birth and in fact the best view of the Auckland city is to be had from Rangitoto’s summit which is a volcanic peak.
Visitors must not miss this amazing landscape if passing through New Zealand. They can also check out www.ooaha.com for best Auckland hotel deals.
Ibiza Boasts of a Rocking Nightlife
Spain is a land blessed with sun-drenched beaches, colorful culture and a rich architectural heritage. One of Europe’s most popular resort island, Ibiza is located around 80 kilometers from the Spanish mainland.
Ibiza has a long history of having one of the most vibrant nightlife scenes on the continent. Here a wide-ranging cosmopolitan crowd comes together with enthusiastic locals to provide patronage to some of the hottest music bands and DJs of Europe. Among the most popular of Ibiza’s nightclubs are Space, Pacha, Amnesia, DC10, Café del Mar and of course, Privilege. Originally known as Ku, Privilege is reputed to be the largest nightclub on the planet with a capacity of 10,000 guests.
Among the best-known DJs who are seen to frequent the clubs of Ibiza are DJ Tiesto who announced last year that he will be the resident DJ of Privilege and veteran DJ and producer Sven Vath who promotes Club Cocoon a popular club night at Amnesia.
Other than several internationally famous nightclubs, Ibiza is also home to the West End party scene of San Antoni which is a must-visit for the most ardent nightclub hoppers in Europe.
Ibiza is aflush with hotels of all ranges and sizes for those keen on exploring the thrilling nightlife of this resort city. A good site to check out lodging options is www.ooaha.com which has best and cheapest Ibiza hotel deals.
Nature Reserves of Belize A Huge Draw Among Visitors
The Central American country of Belize is remarkable for its natural and cultural diversity. Its dense equatorial rainforests, sunny beaches, Mayan ruins as well as hospitable people make the country a great tourism destination.
One of the most-visited natural reserves in Belize is the Guanacaste National Park. Located around 50 miles west of Belize City, it showcases the amazing biodiversity of this land. The Park in fact gets its name from a towering Guanacaste tree which was saved from logging since its base split into three and reduced its commercial value. Among other species of trees found in this Park are the Rain tree, the Brazilian firetree, the Mamey sapote and the Honduras Mahogany which has been designated as the national tree of Belize.
The Guanacaste National Park is also the natural habitat of a wide variety of wild animals like the White-tailed deer, the Kinkajou, the Jaguarundi and the Nine-banded armadillo among others. Other than this The Park is a favorite bird-watching destination since it is home to more than a hundred species of birdlife. Some of the rare birds that can be seen in the Guanacaste National Park are Blue-Crowned Motmot and the Black-faced Antthrush.
The nearest big city to the Guanacaste National Park is the national capital of Belize City. check out lodging options at www.ooaha.com for best Belize hotel deals.
Sunny Beach, Biggest Resort Town in Bulgaria
Bulgaria is small country in Southeastern Europe which has some lovely stretches of coastline along the Black Sea. Sunny Beach is the largest Bulgarian resort town on the Black Sea and one of the most popular beach destinations in this part of Europe.
Sunny Beach as the name suggests enjoys warm weather for the most part of the year since it is located in milder climes of Black Sea. Tourists from all over Europe but mainly from Greece, Romania and Germany, who form around 40% of Bulgaria’s foreign visitors, throng its beaches in summer. Among the most popular activities in this resort town are sunbathing at the beach and various kinds of water sports.
Sunny beach has a thriving nightlife and the main beachfront has hundreds of restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes which cater to the tourists’ choice of music, food and drinks. Young people from all over Europe make up the bulk of visitors to this resort town which also hosts some of the most visited festivals in Bulgaria like the Golden Orpheus International Festival of Popular Song and part of the International Folklore Festival.
In recent times, Sunny Beach has witnessed unprecedented growth in its hospitality industry. According to one estimate there are at least 800 hotels with more than 300,000 beds in the town. A good site to check out best hotel deals in Sunny Beach is www.ooaha.com.
Enjoy Nature at Eden Prairie
Eden Prairie in the American state of Minnesota is a city blessed with beautiful natural surroundings. Lying on the north bank of the Minnesota River, Eden Prairie has several lovely lakes and water bodies. The suburban city has one of the highest ratios of open spaces, parks and multi-use trails within the metro area in the country and was voted by the Money Magazine 2006 as the tenth best place to live in the United States.
Eden Prairie owes its name to the founder of the first community Robert Anderson who found the beauty of the land comparable to the loveliness of Biblical garden. Even today it is one of the few cities to have more than 4500 acres of open space within metro limits. Eden Prairie has around 17 lakes and more than 100 ponds. Local residents as well as visitors enjoy the thousand plus acres of parklands as well as nearly two hundred miles of the city’s sidewalks and trails.
Some of the largest recreational water bodies in Eden Prairie are the Staring Lake, Round Lake and Riley Lake while Miller and Flying Clouds Fields are the most notable community parks. Many of the parks in Eden Prairie offer facilities for disc golf, archery, pet exercise areas and nature walks. Visitors to this lovely suburban city can check out www.ooaha.com for best hotel deals at Eden Prairie.







