BlackBerry to drink with Apple maybe – Technology – smh.com.au

It may seem an unlikely union but at the launch of the BlackBerry Bold today, the company’s global COO Dennis Kavelman said he wanted to take Apple CEO Steve Jobs out for a drink.

The Bold, soon to be sold by Optus, Telstra and Vodafone, will compete directly with Apple’s iPhone as BlackBerry-maker RIM seeks to expand its reach from executives and senior employees to pretty much anyone with a professional job.

Bold step for BlackBerry – Technology – smh.com.au

Study: US Business Elite Embracing Online Media – itsReal

US Business Elite Embracing Online Media

Courtesy: Marketing Charts

To meet their information needs, America’s senior executives are voracious users of all media channels – including, increasingly, digital ones such as online video, blogs and podcasts – according to a study by Ipsos MediaCT.

The Business Elite Study explores the media habits, attitudes, opinions, and business and personal purchasing habits of America’s “C-Suite,” surveying executives and C-Suite professionals.

Among the key findings of the study:

• In the past two years, business executives have rapidly adopted the internet, with significant growth in the usage of print media websites, but that has not necessarily reduced their usage of other media types, such as TV, according to 64% of execs:

• Nearly half of C-suite executives (47%) agree that “the internet has made little difference in their reading of business publications”; at the same time, using a publication’s website is part of the daily routine for about two out of five (38%):

• The internet and business magazines lead as the main sources that C-suite executives turn to for help in business; those two media are also among the main sources of business information, along with national newspapers and cable TV:

• The top websites visited by US Business Executives and C-level execs are heavily news-oriented, including the largest portals and search engines, followed by cable news and newspaper sites:

New Media and Technology

More and more, America’s business elite have also embraced other forms of new media and technology; these attitudes of business executives, in general, are often more pronounced at the C-level of executives, Ipsos said.

While more than half (58%) of all business executives are buying goods and services on the internet, C-level execs are one notch above in wired behavior and new media usage:

• C-level Tech Toys: Almost three out of four (71%) own cellphones with cameras and multi-messaging, and almost as many (68%) own laptops. More than half (60%) already have HDTV, and almost half (40%) own iPods. Likewise, more than one-third already have Blackberries (36%) or Satellite Radio (35%).
• CEOs TiVo: More than one-third (35%) have used a DVR/TIVO to record or playback a TV program in the past month, with almost one-third having watched video-on-demand.
• Downloading Content: In a month’s time, more than two-thirds of the C-levels surveyed (68%) have downloaded videos or clips from websites or received email newsletters/alerts on their computers. About half (49%) have streamed or watched broadband videos from websites on their computers.
• C-level Internet Commerce: More than three-fourths of C-level executives surveyed are already using the Internet to make their travel or flight reservations (78%), and well over half (57%) regularly buy products or services online.
• Being Tech Savvy is Key: Executives at the top also know that keeping up with the latest technology is vital to the success of their businesses – about three-fourths (72%) agree, with the same number agreeing that a business publication’s website is an important part of its offerings (72%).
• Blogging in the C-Suite: They are into blogs too – almost one-third (30%) read blogs and a small number (4%) contribute to blogs

  Read More: Marketing Charts