10 years later, Apple’s ‘crazy’ retail gamble is a hit

Posted by & filed under Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Competitive Advantage.

Discussion: Ten years ago, analysts thought Apple was crazy to get into the retailing business.  But over 300 stores later, Apple has definitely proven their risky model a success.  In fiscal year 2010, 13% of Apple’s total sales, roughly $3.2 billion, came from the stylized and shiny stores, including their flagship 32-foot glass cube New… Read more »

Report: iPhones secretly track their users’ locations

Posted by & filed under Civil Liberties, Electronic Surveillance, IT Security, Mobile Computing, Open Source, Privacy, Video, Wireless.

Discussion: A team of researchers at iPhone Tracker recently discovered that iPhones and 3G-enabled iPads appear to be tracking and storing data about their users’ whereabouts without their knowledge.  Although most cell phone providers collect similar data as part of their operations, it is kept behind a firewall and normally requires a court order to… Read more »

How 2010 tech changed retail forever

Posted by & filed under App Economy, Business Intelligence, E-Business, E-Commerce, IT Strategy, IT Trends, Mobile Computing, Social Computing, Social Networks, Wireless.

Discussion: Long gone are the days when consumers crawled through newspaper ads and trekked to brick and mortar stores.  Through the power of the web, smartphone, and tablet, the American shopping experience has been forever changed.  Consumer online spending is up 12% from last year, and Black Friday online sales accounted for 34% of all… Read more »