5 Things Retailers Should Take Away From The Apple Card News

Initial reaction to Apple’s entrance into the credit card space via its Apple Card was met by the expected healthy skepticism. After all, Apple may know tech, but what does the company know about consumer credit? 

Many observers also looked askance at Apple Cards reward benefits, pointing to other similar or even more lucrative money-back programs from other more well-established card issuers.

But as those in the tech business have learned, discounting Apple’s ability to create consumer must-have craving into any market it enters — music selling, smartphones, tablets, wearables — often makes initial cynics look foolish.

Read the rest of this report here at TWICE.com.

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Should You Use A Consultant When Selling Through Amazon?

Anyone who has dealt with Amazon will tell you the same thing: It’s a beast. Akin to acting as your own lawyer in court, anyone who deals with Amazon by themselves has a fool for a client.

Read the rest of this Amazon consultant guide at TWICE.com here.

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7 ways Qualcomm’s new chip set will change your smart devices for the better

Read the rest of this report at Gearbrain.com here.

Smart speakers can be frustrating. They’ll wake up from hearing their name uttered in casual conversation or even if it’s said on the TV. Worse, they sometimes don’t wake up at all, particularly if they’re in a noisy environment. If a smart speaker is playing music — and you’re trying to get them to stop — shouting is sometimes your only recourse. Forget asking it to then connect to an another smart device to run a routine. As with all version 1.0s, however, smart speakers are about to get smarter. And Qualcomm believes its new chip set will play a significant role.

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Selling Through Amazon: What Retailers Need To Know

If you’re a brand, a distributor or an importer of product, it’s not a question of if you should be selling through Amazon, but rather how

Read the rest of this analysis at TWICE.com here.

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5 Best Smart Locks for Your Home

Smart locks that supplement or replace your front door deadbolt do much more than lock and unlock your door without a key. Most smart locks (and all of the locks on our top picks list) let you receive alerts and track who’s entering and leaving your abode; email limited-access digital “keys” to visitors, children, trusted service workers or guests when you’re not home; and remotely lock and unlock when you’re away from home.

Some smart locks are compatible with smart home ecosystems such as Nest, the Apple HomeKit and Google Home. They can be locked or unlocked as part of a group operation; for example, you could program a night mode action that locks the doors and also turns off the lights and closes the shades. A smart lock can be handy when paired with a compatible smart doorbell. If a friend, family member or service worker rings your smart doorbell while you’re away, you can visually confirm who it is via the smart doorbell, then remotely unlock the door to let them in.

Read the rest of this report wrap at Techlicious.com here.

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The 8K TV Shanda

TV makers, attempting to cure themselves of their self-inflicted 4K narrow-margin woes, are again hawking a shiny new—and expensive—technology that offers few near-term consumer benefits. The question for TV makers and the marketplace is this: Will 8K provide more evidence for the oft-quoted definition of insanity—that is, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result—or does 8K have better long-term prospects than the two previous failed TV maker margin-increasing attempts, 3D and curved TVs?

Read the rest of this column at Digital Technology Consulting here.

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Hands on with the Samsung Galaxy 10 and Galaxy Fold Phones

Samsung just unleashed arguably the most impressive array of new mobile devices and worlds-first mobile technologies in the short history of the smartphone. The latest lineup of Galaxy smartphones includes the S10, S10+, S10e, S10 5G and Fold. The Galaxy Fold is the real stand-out: it’s the world’s first seamless foldable phone. This 4.6-inch phone opens like a book to present a single 7.3-inch tablet display.

Read the rest of this report on Samsung’s latest smartphones at Techlicious.com.

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12 Techiest Tech Toys from Toy Fair 2019 (Plus 1)

Amidst the usual multitude of plush toys, licensed action figures, toy, RC and ride-in/on vehicles, construction kits, books, games, and other indoor and outdoor playthings at Toy Fair 2019, taking place at New York City’s Javits Center this week, are a growing number of toys that teach coding. 

These coding edutainment toys, many aimed at preschoolers, include build-your-own action and art robots, stackable blocks and programmable pets, some designed to teach your youngster how to code before learning how to read. Also a major trend for the toys your kids will be clamoring for this year are those with augmented and virtual reality (AR, VR) elements to transport your prodigy into new environments to both teach and entertain.

Read more about the top tech toys at this year’s Toy Fair at GearBrain.com.

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Review of the Epson FastFoto FF-680W

Let’s face it. The process of digitizing photos is mind-numbingly slow: the laying of each photo on the scanner and waiting the agonizing minutes for each to be scanned, then saving each photo. And many of these photos are likely faded or discolored so you’ll want to do at least some minimal enhancements. Facing this tiresome time-consuming task keeps those old photos stuck in their drawers and shoeboxes. But not anymore.

Epson’s new (and aptly-named) FastFoto FF-680W ($599.99 on Epson, check price on Amazon) is so fast and easy, it makes digitizing photos fun.

Read the rest of this review here at Techlicious.com.

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Motorola’s G7 Phones Offer Premium Features at Budget Prices

You’d ideally love to buy a bleeding-edge smartphone, but don’t love the idea of spending a great deal of money on one. Motorola’s three new Moto g7 series smartphones – the Moto g7 Play, the Moto g7 Power and the plain Moto g7, due to go on sale this spring, may offer the perfect balance between features and cost with three modern models priced at just $199, $249 and $299, respectively.

Read the rest of this report on Motorola’s new budget phones here at Techlicious.com.

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