Category: Tech News

Creative makes it personal with the launch of the Outlier Air V3. #OutlierAirV3

Creative Technology today announced the release of the Creative Outlier Air V3, the latest addition to its best-selling true wireless in-ear series.  Redesigned with a sleeker and better-fitting form factor, these sweatproof earbuds are lighter, yet feature meatier improvements from its predecessor – including beefier audio quality and battery life, ambient noise control, Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, quad microphones and wireless charging. Above all, the Outlier Air V3 comes with the new Creative app, offering users a high level of personalization with its functions.

Creative Outlier Air V3 has upped the true wireless game yet again, and sports a midnight metallic green look to boot.  Bigger Audio, Just the Way You Like It

The Creative Outlier Air V3 has gone big on audio quality improvement, with all-new 6mm bio-cellulose drivers powering audio with detailed highs, well-balanced mids and immersive bass – perfect for keeping users pumped up through their workout routines. This is complemented by the new Ambient Mode and Active Noise Reduction features – through the Creative mobile app, users have full control if they want to be fully immersed in their music, shut out environment noise for important calls, or be more aware of their crowded surroundings when out jogging. The app also features equalizer adjustments so that users can tweak their audio anytime they want.

The touch controls on the earbuds are naturally sensitive to tap commands, which can be customized according to user preferences on the app, so that each Outlier Air V3 is truly the user’s own.

Charging Almost not Needed

Great audio simply means nothing to users if it cannot last long enough. The Creative Outlier Air V3 retains the series hallmark of great battery life, boasting up to 10 hours per charge and 40 hours in total – making it a great companion for that Netflix binge in long commutes, or a music marathon to accompany a lung-busting cycling trip.

The call quality on these earbuds has also been improved, with quad microphones (two on each earbud) enabling better voice pick-up, so that users can fully enjoy long heart-to-heart calls wherever they are.

The wearability of the Outlier Air V3 remains top-notch – these earbuds come with different soft silicone ear tip sizes designed to match varying ear shapes to achieve the optimal seal for maximum comfort. It is also lighter than ever, weighing just 5.2g.

Holographic Audio – Try It!

Creative Outlier Air V3 supports Super X-Fi READY – a free preview version of this technology, which is available through the Creative app.

Users can enjoy Super X-Fi headphone holography, which recreates a multi-speaker system soundstage, on local content inside their phones.

Super X-Fi READY does not support streaming content like YouTube, Spotify etc. For the full experience, users should consider products like SXFI AIR GAMER, SXFI TRIO or other Super X-Fi products.

Pricing and Availability

The Creative Outlier Air V3 is launching at a promotional price of £54.99 and is available at Creative.com.

For more information, visit creative.com/OutlierAirV3

6 Ecommerce Metrics To Measure Your Online Success

To Make Sure That Your Business Is Succeeding, You Will Need To Focus On Analysing The E-commerce Metrics

 

With the ever-growing supply and demand of products and services, it is not a surprise that you will notice an increase in the number of e-commerce businesses. At the same time, with the rise in the number of businesses, there is a rise in the level of competition. Taking into consideration the data you receive is going to play a vital role in ensuring that your business stays on top of its competition. While initially, your main focus will be to build a good website to launch your products, once that is done your next step should be to focus on analyzing e-commerce metrics. 

 

Once you learn how to keep track of these metrics, your business will thrive with time. You can check the performance of your business through these metrics that can help you to make informed decisions in the future. You will know better what are the strong and weak areas of your business. Below are key ecommerce metrics that you should keep in check. 

Sales Conversion Rate

Sales are the final result that every business aims to have. The sales conversion rate is the actual percentage of people who landed on your website and completed the action of actually purchasing something. This is one of the most important Key Performance Indicators for your business. You can use this e-commerce kpi guide to understand the overview of KPIs. As for the sales conversion rate, you can use the insight you get from these metrics to track your key successful areas as well as those that need improvement. You try new things to improve sales like adding quality images or writing a more informative copy. 

CLTV And CAC

The CLTV or customer lifetime value gives you an idea of the total worth of a prospective customer to a business. These metrics can be used to understand which of the customers are most valuable for your business. It will help you to estimate how much money you should spend on a particular customer in order to retain them, and how much revenue can you expect to get from them. CAC or customer acquisition cost determines what your cost will be when you want to acquire new customers for your business. Acquiring new customers is always going to be a more costly affair as compared to retaining old ones. This is because when you want new customers you will have to spend more on different and new marketing channels as well as create advertising campaigns to attract more attention. 

Average Order Value

The average amount of money spent when a customer makes an order on your website is the average order value metric. To get this figure you will need to divide the total revenue by the total number of orders you received. This can help you to determine the marketing efforts you have put in along with the pricing strategy. You can then look for ways to decrease your transaction cost and increase customer spending. 

Cart Abandonment Rate

There will be times when the customer on your website will add many items to their cart but will abandon them at the last minute. This metric is called the cart abandonment rate. If this is happening too often then you need to consider what the reason can be. This could mean that there is friction that takes place during the checkout process. For example, maybe the refund policy is not good or maybe the final charges do not add up properly. By working with the best ecommerce developers you can make sure that your checkout process is on point, hence reducing your cart abandonment rate greatly.

Revenue By Channel

 

This is another important metric that you will want to know as this can help you to check the performance of different marketing channels that you are adapting. When you know how much revenue each channel brings for you, then you can invest your money in the channel that is most beneficial and gives you the highest return on investment. For example, if you notice that the insights for running campaigns on social media are bringing more value then you should focus more on that channel. 

Page Speed And Load Time

How long your page load time is, will determine the user experience people have on your website. If your page takes a lot of time to load and is slow then it can have a very negative impact on your prospective customers as they will leave the page after being frustrated and probably shop with your competition. The bounce rate on your website will increase and this will further have a bad effect on your Google ranking. 

Paying attention to all these e-commerce metrics is going to be helpful to track your profit and revenue as well as focus on key points wherein the improvement is needed.  

FUJIFILM Launch PrintLife Digital Exhibition with Chance to win INSTAX CAMERAS and Photo Printing Vouchers

Following last year’s successful digital exhibition and a 15-year history of hosting public photo exhibitions, Fujifilm has today launched its second printlife@home exhibition to tell the stories behind the photos taken over the last year in Europe.

 

After long lockdowns across Europe, photography has been firmly established a key part of collecting new memories as families, friends and loved ones begin to reunite with one another. Every photo tells a story, and Fujifilm is calling for these stories to be shared in this year’s printlife@home exhibition. 

Launching on August 2nd, members of the public across Europe can submit their photos to Fujifilm’s second virtual photo exhibition until 5 December 2021 on www.fujifilm-printlife.eu. The exhibition is open to everyone, irrespective of whether their photos are shot on a smartphone or a camera.

Creating and looking back at memories through the medium of photography has provided comfort and happiness to many through these difficult periods, so Fujifilm wants the public to not only share their special snaps but also their arrangements or displays of photos at home to provide the feeling of walking through personal galleries, providing the perfect storytelling setting.

 

David Honey, General Manager Photo Imaging at Fujifilm Europe, said:

“Over the last 18 months, so many of us have returned to old photos to remind us of what life was like before the global pandemic, searching for the comfort of nostalgia. At Fujifilm, we strongly believe in the power of photography to capture and preserve memories for years to come, with each photo telling its own unique story. Whether you consider yourself a professional photographer or you prefer to capture your own memories on your smartphone camera, printlife@home is open to all to share these stories. 

printlife@home is open for any member of the public to enter and Fujifilm is looking to celebrate the most creative contributions and meaningful stories by choosing five Photos of the Week. Winners, selected by an independent jury, will not only have their photos profiled by Fujifilm but will also receive a voucher of €200, €150 or €100, or currency equivalent, to spend on photo printing products, or instead opting for an instax mini 40 or instax mini 11 camera, both with instax mini film provided to have everything needed to get creative and shoot beautiful instant prints. 

 

After Fujifilm’s global100,000 Photos exhibition was postponed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, printlife@home launched in Europe in 2020 to provide a way for amateur, professional and hobbyist photographers to connect with each other. More than 10,500 photos were uploaded, giving a unique insight into the stories emerging across the continent.

 

David Honey, General Manager Photo Imaging at Fujifilm Europe, said:

“Last year’s exhibition really demonstrated the simultaneously shared and unique experiences we have all been through over the last 18 months, giving focus to the varied cultures, roles and identities emerging from the hundreds of thousands of uploaded photos. The printlife@home exhibition provides a unique snapshot into how daily life has changed – and continues to change – using the creativity of photography. We want to continue this discovery journey this year and look forward to seeing and reviewing the thousands of entries we hope to receive.”

Fujifilm’s 15-year history in mass public participation photo exhibitions has seen the 100,000 Photos exhibition tour across various locations, from Japan and Malaysia to France and the USA. This year, 500 photos entered into printlife@home will also be showcased in an on-site exhibition at The Photography Show in Birmingham, UK in September.

Legion Esports, has announced a ground-breaking new partnership with An Post Money Mate.

Ireland’s leading esports company, Legion Esports, has announced a ground-breaking new partnership with An Post Money Mate, the new digital money management app for young adults.

The partnership is seen as a hugely significant moment for the gaming and esports scene in Ireland as An Post lend their support to the fastest growing esports tournaments in the country.

Legion Esports was launched in January of this year by the organisers of Ireland’s leading gaming festival, GamerFest, with online tournaments running across a variety of popular games including FIFA 21, Rainbow 6 Siege and Fortnite. To date, Legion Esports tournaments have had over 3,000 participating players, more than 100,000 live stream views and thousands of euros in prizes awarded.

Speaking about the Gaming partnership, Conor Barron, Digital Marketing and CRM Manager at An Post, said:

“At An Post, we are hugely excited to be involved with The Legion as the first Irish brand to enter a partnership of this size and scale with them. We share a keen sense of community with gamers and the gaming industry and we look forward to using this innovative and exciting medium to communicate with them both.”

Stuart Dempsey, Co-Founder & CEO at Legion Esports, added:

“We are incredibly proud to welcome An Post Money Mate as Title Partner of the Legion Esports Series and Official Partner of our Legion Creator Programme. This partnership is a great vote of confidence in the success of Legion Esports and the growth of gaming in Ireland.”

For gamers interested in participating in the An Post Money Mate Legion Esports Series, they can check out the full schedule of tournaments at www.legn.gg

Groov-e launches Radio Curve: Rechargeable portable alarm clock radio

Groov-e, a leading UK tech brand, today adds Radio Curve to its portable radio collection.

The compact, sleek black alarm clock radio features a large, white LED display so users can easily see the time, control its functions and tune the FM radio. The preset function allows for quick access to 20 different stations and the integrated antenna improves signal quality for a high quality listening experience.

As well as being a perfect bedside table companion, Radio Curve has a generous 1200mAH rechargeable battery offering nine hours playback, or the option to power by USB-C (included) making it an ideal travel gadget or for use around the house and garden. Users simply recharge the radio using the USB-C cable provided, so no need to buy batteries.

Radio Curve’s alarm function gives users the choice to be woken up by a classic alarm sound or their favourite FM radio station. For those who struggle to jump straight out of bed, the nine-minute snooze function will be a welcomed feature.

RADIO CURVE Rechargeable Alarm Clock Radio

Radio Curve can also aid with sleep; the LED display has a dimmer function offering four different levels of brightness — off, low, medium and high so the light doesn’t interfere with sleep. Sleep mode also turns the radio off after a set amount of time (between 15 minutes and two hours) so users can drift off to their favourite late-night show without having to turn Radio Curve off.

Radio Curve is available now for £19.99 from Argos, Amazon and Groov-e.

Brits can go for a whole month without talking to someone new, reveals new research by Jabra

Brits are going for over a month on average (5 weeks) without having a meaningful conversation with someone new, reveals new research into consumers’ habits and attitudes when wearing headphones, by sound and video solutions brand Jabra.

The research of 2,000 consumers in the UK found that on average, users are wearing headphones for 58 minutes per day, whether that’s going for a walk (47%), travelling on public transport (29%) or going to the shops (22%). 15% wear headphones every day for non-work purposes, rising to 30% of 16–24-year-olds who wear them every day.

When it comes to social interaction, 32% of us speak to new people less than we did before the first national lockdown in March 2020, with 20% feeling significantly less connected to others.

The research also revealed that 38% of people wear headphones to actively avoid talking to others, with women being more likely to do this than men (26% vs 18% respectively). 45% of the younger generation is also keen to avoid interaction, and Londoners live up to their reputation for being less talkative as 34% actively choose not to engage with others. And it works; nearly three quarters of people (74%) are deterred from talking to people who are wearing headphones. This would actually be a thing I do quite often aside from testing I would actively use headphones to avoid people..

Steve Evans, Managing Director of Consumer Solutions, EMEA at Jabra says, “For many of us, wearing headphones is part of every-day life, whether for work calls or entertainment such as listening to music when we’re on the move. But from time to time, it’s good to have a break and channel our focus on the real outside world. One of the things the last 18 months has taught us is that social interaction and the company of friends means everything. So, we are asking everyone to join us in going truly headphone free for one day, to take time to connect with friends and enjoy the sights and sounds around them. Your headphones will be right where you left them when you choose to come back.”

Professor Noreena Hertz, author of the The Lonely Century says, “As this research supports, we are in the midst of a crisis of disconnection that the pandemic has significantly amplified. But even before the pandemic struck, this was the lonely century – ensconced in our digital privacy bubbles, headphones on, heads in our phones all too often we actively distanced ourselves from those around us.  With loneliness damaging not only our mental but also our physical health – loneliness is as bad for our health as smoking fifteen cigarettes a day – it’s essential that we commit to reconnect in person. This isn’t an onerous ask. Researchers have found that even just a thirty second exchange with a stranger can make us feel significantly less lonely and significantly more connected to those around us.”

Check the Wifi Speed in Your Airbnb Listing Before You Book. #AirBnB #Wifi #Travel

As the growing flexibility to work and live from anywhere continues, being able to determine a listing’s wifi speed before booking is a must-have for digital nomads, remote workers, roadschoolers, traveling families, gamers, and creatives alike. This is a great idea and would be helpful if adopted in hotels and more as I am doing a staycation from next week for a few weeks and it would be nice to know what I am in for before I reach my destinations as hotel Wi-Fi can be dodgy but I do have some Airbnb stays booked too.

Guests want peace of mind that where they’re staying can support their connected needs — whether gaming and streaming on Twitch, Zooming with colleagues, or catching up with family on video chat, fast and stable internet is more important than ever.

While Hosts have been able to manually add wifi speeds to their listing pages for some time, we’re now providing an easy and efficient in-app solution to allow them to measure the wifi speed in their listing using the Airbnb app.

Hosts can test their listing’s connection speed right within the Airbnb app, and easily have their wifi speed information posted on their listing page, making their listings more appealing to guests looking for connected stays.

This feature uses M-Lab’s open source software to measure download speeds and we’ve begun rolling out in-app internet speed testing in the US and we will expand globally in the coming weeks. Hosts can learn more by visiting their Help Center.

 

Ireland’s plan to launch gambling regulator – What will this mean?

Ireland is poised to introduce a strict gambling regulator that could transform the current state of play regarding all forms of gambling and related advertisements across the country. The new watchdog will prioritise public health and wellbeing and have extreme power, as stated by James Brown, the Minister of State for Justice. The regulator is expected to be in full operation by the end of 2021, employing 100 people to keep an eye on Irish companies and impose fines in instances of non-compliance.

The new watchdog may be unwelcome news to some gambling businesses – but not all of them. Operating in legal jurisdictions and prioritising player wellbeing will match the new branding of Entain, which has multiple gambling businesses in operation across the country, PartyCasino being one of their most recognised brands in the world. The changes may even work seamlessly with their new Advanced Responsibility and Care (ARC) strategy.

 The story in detail

 Ireland’s gambling laws and legislation have been outdated for a long time. Before an interim Act was passed early in 2021, the then-current laws were devised in 1931, with changes made in 1956. The industry was running on older rules that were not fit for purpose, especially considering the trend in online gambling and vast advertisement opportunities since their conception.

Another issue with the current system is that overseeing influences within the local gambling industry are fragmented. Multiple government departments and agencies are responsible for the different parts of regulation in the country. The creation of the new regulator will solve the outdatedness and the fragmented nature of the current state of play.

Will ads be banned in Ireland?

There is a possibility that gambling ads will be banned in Ireland as a result of pending changes. However, it may be more likely that an advert watershed is introduced, which is not currently the case. There have been growing concerns surrounding children witnessing scores of gaming ads each week due to no “lights-out” hours on these ads, especially as more children were being homeschooled over the last year.

Earlier this year, the Irish Labour Party tabled a Bill to ban all gambling ads on television as a way to prevent minors from witnessing these adverts. The Bill has been supported by Gaelic Players Association (GPA) and the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). However, it is still unclear whether a blanket ban will be used or a watershed introduced. Mark Wall from the Labour Party has stressed that Ireland should not wait until the end of the year when a new regulator is created to ban these ads, suggesting that Ireland “cannot wait that long”.

These debated changes mirror what is happening across the Irish Sea, as the UK Gambling Commission wrestles with the same issues and the high prevalence of gambling companies partnering with professional sporting teams, notably as Premier League shirt sponsors.

Dropbox storage data centres are powered by 100% renewable energy #Dropbox #DataCentres

Today, Dropbox is announcing that all of its data centre storage server power is covered by 100% renewable electricity.
Last year, Dropbox published its commitment to fighting global warming and reducing its carbon footprint through sustainability goals, that the company plans to accomplish by 2030.
As a company that runs on data centres, Dropbox recognises the impact that it has on global energy consumption – and today’s news means that means when you’re storing your data with Dropbox, you’re not leaving a carbon footprint.
The Dropbox Infrastructure team has worked hard to achieve this milestone through three focus areas: maintaining best-in-class power usage effectiveness, optimising overall power consumption, and sourcing more renewable energy.
Dropbox says

 

As a company that runs on data centers, we recognize the impact we have on global energy consumption, and we’re proud to announce that all of our data center storage server power is covered by 100% renewable electricity. This means when you’re storing your data with us, you’re not leaving a carbon footprint.

Our Infrastructure team has worked hard to achieve this milestone through three focus areas: maintaining best-in-class power usage effectiveness, optimizing

See the full report HERE