Link is here: Hank

And it’s not even Friday! Hank

URGENT WARNING.………

ALIENS ARE COMING TO EARTH  TODAY AND THEIR MISSION IS
TO ABDUCT ALL GOOD LOOKING  PEOPLE.
YOU WILL BE SAFE, BUT I’M JUST BLOGGING THIS TO SAY GOODBYE. HANK

http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=8757694861

It’s a work in process. Hank

As most of you know who follow the tech gadget market, and what Gen-Yers don’t, Google & T-Mobile this past Tuesday rolled out their new cell phone offering, the $179.00 Android,  available 10/22/08. At the high end of full service, that is voice, web, and unlimited texting, the Android @ $70.00/month beats the iPhone’s $90.00/month [don't forget the taxes!]. However, there is much much more at stake here than meets the eye.

Writing in SiliconValley.com’s “Good Morning Silicon Valley,” John Murrell in a very insightful article points out:

“…it comes down to closed vs. open. In political terms, the Apple environment is like Singapore, where some freedoms may be ceded in favor of providing a pleasant and orderly experience, and Google, with its Android platform, is like a loud and messy New England town meeting. Apple has one iPhone, a tightly controlled App Store for third-party programs, and a touchscreen design that favors consumption of iTunes entertainment. The G1 is but the first of many Android-based devices to come, all of which will be served by the wide-open Android Market, and its design, featuring a real keyboard, leans toward typing-oriented functions like mail, messaging and mobile search, not coincidentally all Google strong suits. If you’re already happy in the Apple ecosystem, or with an “it just works (most of the time)” approach to tech in general, and you’re in the smart-phone market, there’s probably not much that Android handset manufacturers can come up with that will tempt you away from the iPhone. If you’re already happy in the Google ecosystem, then the tight integration of Google applications and services and the breadth of third-party development possibilities will make an Android-based phone more appealing. At the core, the iPhone and the Android phones may not really be the direct competitors they’re made out to be, but rather comparable alternatives whose appeal depends mostly on whether your tastes and needs put you in the closed or open camp.”

Me, I prefer Open Source and am willing to give Android a chance. BTW, Google yesterday released the 1.0 version of the Android SDK; not beta, but 1.0. It’s going to get interesting! And you, the customer, will be the winner. There’s more talking head stuff in the video below. Hank

  A Nielsen study by MarketingCharts.com, suggests nearly half - 46% - of US “tweens” (those age 8-12) use a cell phone, and safety is the primary reason that parents cite for their childrens’ having a mobile phone, according to Nielsen’s newly launched Mobile Kids Insights survey.

The survey of 1,700 tweens also estimates that US tweens - a population segment of 20 million - get their own cell phone between age 10 and 11, on average.

Some 55% of tweens who own a cell phone send text messages and 21% download ringtones, according to the study.

In terms of the role that parents play in tween cell phone use:

• The top reason parents want tweens to have a cell phone: in case there is an emergency or problem.
• 92% of parents restrict how tweens use their phone
• 68% say they prohibit downloads (games, ringtones, etc.) that incur charges.
• 65% of tweens with cell phones are on family plans.

Looks to me like there is a sweet spot for entrepreneurs and marketers - free apps. Now the question becomes, via what free apps can $$$ be made indirectly? I can think of plenty.

Now to teens. Nearly half (47%) of US teens say their social life would end or be worsened without their cell phone, and nearly six in 10 (57%) credit their mobile device with improving their life, according to a national survey from CTIA and Harris Interactive.

The study also confirmed that texting is replacing talking among teens. Teens admitted spending nearly an equal amount of time talking as they do texting each month. The feature is so important to them that if texting were no longer an option 47% of teens say their social life would end or be worsened - that’s especially so among females (54% vs. 40%).

Teens say texting has advantages over talking because it offers more options, including multitasking, speed, the option to avoid verbal communication, and because it is fun - in that order, according to the study. And what would teens like to see in their phone? See chart below. Looks like there is ample opportunity for new products in this category. Hank

 The following is excerpted from the 9/12/08 issue of WSJ online: and is included here for marketing ideas.

Fashion companies have discovered a lucrative new marketing vehicle: Sarah Palin.

Since John McCain chose her last month as his running mate, Gov. Palin’s personal style has sparked a buying frenzy. Many women are snapping up her choices of shoes and eyeglasses and blogging about which brand of lipstick she wears. Hairstylists and wig sellers report sudden demand for her trademark up-dos. Indeed, the brands behind Gov. Palin’s fashion taste have gone into overdrive seeking to cash in on the association.

On Wednesday, WigSalon.com issued a news release boasting that it has wigs and hair pieces “that reflect the new looks made popular by Sarah Palin,” along with style tips to “instantly” achieve the swept-back style.

“Obviously we’re going to get a jump from this,” says Joe Aronesty, owner of WigSalon.com. In the past week, the company has sold about 25 Palin-esque wigs, ranging in price from $100 to the “Bargain Sarah Palin” wig for $46. “And it’s not even close to Halloween,” Mr. Aronesty says. Early next week, Mr. Aronesty plans to send a newsletter to his 25,000 subscribers highlighting Palin wig options and styling tips.

Fashion firms have long boasted when celebrities and first ladies wore their clothing and accessories, of course. Jacqueline Kennedy lent cachet to Oleg Cassini gowns and Halston pillbox hats during the 1960s. This year, the sight of Michelle Obama in a $148 black-and-white tank dress on ABC’s “The View” in June helped popularize Chico’s FAS Inc.’s White House|Black Market brand. But the prospect of having a national candidate who is a former beauty queen and in the news every day is even better for business, many fashion companies say.

Gov. Palin’s spokeswoman, Maria Comella, declined to comment on any aspect of the governor’s personal style.

Jay Randhawa, a brand director at House of Brands Inc. in San Diego, says he was surprised to learn that Gov. Palin was introduced as Mr. McCain’s vice-presidential choice wearing a red pair of peep-toe pumps with 3 1/2-inch heels. The shoes, marketed by his company’s Naughty Monkey line, generally are geared to women in their early to mid-20s who go clubbing, he says.

“The age bracket we target is a little younger. It’s a very edgy, very hip, very street brand,” adds Mr. Randhawa.

Celebrities like Paris Hilton had been photographed in the brand’s shoes, but seldom, if ever, a 40-something politician.

Mr. Randhawa says he realized that Gov. Palin’s footwear choice offered the chance to pitch the Naughty Monkey line to a new demographic. The company quickly sent out emails to its retailers with a photo of the Alaska governor wearing the shoes and the slogan “I vote for Naughty Monkey!”

At Amazon.com Inc.’s Endless.com shoe unit, sales of the red Naughty Monkey shoes shot up 50%, to thousands of pairs, says Mr. Randhawa.

A spokeswoman for Endless.com declined to provide specific sales data but says the unit “saw definite spikes in sales after Sarah Palin wore the shoes” and sold out in four sizes. Other retailers reported similar increases.

Mr. Randhawa plans to send Gov. Palin some additional pairs of shoes and approach her about some kind of partnership. “We have to capitalize on it pretty soon,” he says.

Gov. Palin’s eyeglasses — rimless $375 frames made by Kazuo Kawasaki (style series 704, color 34) — are on back order, says Amy Hahn, vice president of Italee Optics Inc., the brand’s U.S. distributor. To keep up with orders, which have more than quadrupled since the Republican National Convention, manufacturing has shifted to a 24-hour production cycle, Ms. Hahn says.

Italee executives say they sensed a possible business opportunity when Gov. Palin donned the glasses for her formal introduction as Sen. McCain’s running mate.

Spotting the familiar frames, Italee executives dug through their records until they confirmed that the company handled Gov. Palin’s order for the custom frames in December, Ms. Hahn says. “But the turning point was at the convention,” she says. “The next day, our phone started ringing off the hook. Now we’re doing everything we can to keep up.”

John Barrett, whose salon sits in the penthouse of tony New York retailer Bergdorf Goodman, says that in the past week he has given five clients the loosely tied-back hairstyle Gov. Palin wore during the convention. “People are requesting it — it shows off the cheekbones,” says Mr. Barrett. “I can’t emphasize enough how her angled bangs and hair color are so beautifully executed.”

Online detectives, meanwhile, continue debating which lipstick brand Gov. Palin wore during her convention speech. And the Web site of beauty magazine Allure suggests “Pitbull-friendly” and “Pig Appropriate” colors to try, alluding to Gov. Palin’s joking comparison of herself to a lipstick-wearing pitbull and Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s reference to Mr. McCain’s economic policy as “lipstick on a pig.”

In her home state, retailers are looking to capitalize on the governor’s patronage. Just before she was offered the nomination two weeks ago, Gov. Palin went shopping at Out of the Closet, an Anchorage-based secondhand store, with her 14-year-old daughter Willow and her infant son Trig. She picked up a Juicy Couture coat for Willow and a tweed blazer for herself by Escada, which is one of her favorite labels, a saleswoman says.

Out of the Closet couldn’t resist some publicity. On Sept. 1, the store posted an item on its blog: “Finally, we are thrilled that our favorite Governor is making such a name for herself on the national stage! Go Girl! We love seeing you in your Out of the Closet duds!” Shoefly + Hudsons, the Juneau boutique where Gov. Palin bought the Naughty Monkey heels, has the shoes prominently displayed on its Web site declaring: “First Stop: Shoefly + Hudsons, Second Stop: Run for Vice President of the U.S.?”

If you haven’t noticed, Obama has taken to wearing white shirts, no tie, with his sleeves rolled up. So will this become the dress code for well dressed business men in the future?

Hank

Max Showalter reported in yesterday’s Journal & Courier (p. C12) on a kit manufactured by Flex Fuel International that a local firm, Bartlett Ford just up the road north of Purdue about 10 miles in Brookston, is now selling and installing . Installed prices are $695 for 4 & 6 cylinders vehicles, and $795 for V-8’s. But that’s not the story. Bartlett installed the kit on a 236,000 mile Ford Windstar minivan and kept records.

• On “normal” gas - 22.8 MPG
• On 50-50 blend of gas and ethanol, called E-50 - 20.4 MPG
• On E-85 - 18.1 MPG.

Ok, so going from “normal” gas to E85 reduces fuel economy by 20.6% [(22.8-18.1)/22.8]. Using this as a benchmark, if regular 87 octane gas is $4.00 a gallon, we should be willing to pay about 80% or $3.20 a gallon for E85. If E85 is less than this, it is “cheaper” to use E85. Yesterday, E85 was selling for $2.99/gallon on SR38 on the East side of Lafayette, and 87 octane was $4.04. E85 wins, since $3.20 > $2.99. In this case, you’re saving $0.21/gal.

Now you have to figure the payback, i.e, how long will it take to recoup $695 + tax = $743.65. Let’s assume you drive 10,000 miles/year. 10,000 mi/18.1mpg = 553 gals of E85. Let’s say you’re saving $.20/gal by using E85, so $.20 X 553 = $110.60 you’ve saved in one year. Ok, you invested $743.65, and this divided by your yearly saving of $110.6 = 6.72 years before you really start saving anything. I don’t know about you, but too many things can change too much in almost 7 years. I pass.

Bartlett’s phone # is (765) 563-3127. Flex Fuel’s YouTube ad is below. Hank

SiliconValley.com reports the following:

“As we’ve written before, one of our goals is to enable everyone using Google to find the information they want easily, no matter what language they speak. It recently came to our attention that Google was not accessible to a large, influential, and notoriously quick-tempered community: Pirates. As of today we are proud and rather relieved to announce that Google Search is available in Pirate.” — Google joins in the annual Talk Like A Pirate Day revelry .

Now that’s listening to your customers! Hank