Business+Perspective

=Apple iPhone 4=

Matthew Del Tufo
Apple has really been taking a strong grasp of the market in recent years, and the iPhone 4 is a continuation of their success. The iPhone 4 has sold an unbelievable 1.7 million units in just three days. This sales record absolutely trumps the iPhone 3GS that came out last year, as the now older model sold 1 million units in its first three days on the market. As successful as both were, the iPhone 4 sold 70% more then its older counterpart. “//This is the most successful product launch in Apple’s history//,” an ecstatic Jobs said in an official statement. The iPhone 4 was launched in the US on June 24th with literally thousands of people lining up at retailers. The product was also simultaneously launched in the U.K., France, Germany, and Japan but do to a massive turnout in buyers, popular retailers such as Best Buy and AT&T began disappointing customers as their stocks quickly dried up. Apple was forced to stop accepting pre-orders at the 600,000 marker due to a lack of parts from manufacturers (more specifically the retina displays). It was suspected that if Apple had more units in stock their sales would have also grown. The iPhone 4 commercial launch jumped Apple's stock value by $1.60 to $268.30. Apple’s share price is already up by 27% this year, making it a star performer in 2010.

The iPhone 4 is on the market selling at $199 for 16GB, or $299 for 32GB.

=Parking Bicycles=

Matthew Del Tufo
Japan has been making an effort in order to reduce clutter from bike racks, and the solution they have come up with is underground parking lots. These lots can accommodate up to ~9400 bikes at any moment. These automatic parking lots are very useful in the sense that they are very simple and easy to use, there is no hassle untangling your bike from others who carelessly flop theirs next to yours, there is very little threat of theft, and the bikes are kept safe from environmental conditions. For use of these facilities Giken, the parent company, charges by either single use, or you can purchase a monthly pass. Single use costs roughly 100 yen, about $1.17 in US dollars, and monthly passes go for around 1800 yen, or $21.14 US dollars. This is not the first time Japan has used innovative parking lots. They have had interesting systems along these lines for cars as well.

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=Microwave Ovens=

Matthew Del Tufo
In these days if you walk into a friends house and they do not own a microwave oven you would probably give them a funny look. These appliances are so common it is estimated that over 90% of American households own one, however, this was not always the case. In 1986 it was roughly measured that only 25% of American households owned a microwave, and in 1971 only 1% had them in their possession. There are so many different types of microwaves available today that buyers have options such as counter top microwaves, built in microwaves, speedcook microwaves and plenty more that you have probably never heard of. To go with all these different types of microwaves, there are also so many different features like auto-settings, child locks, and time and power levels amongst others. On top of that there are also plenty of, "next-gen," features like different digital displays, sensors, and cleaning settings. All of these differences combined makes for a lot of room in the microwave market. Prices of microwaves are also very varied depending on the size, power, and features. Price tags can typically range from $45 to a whopping $2,000 for some convection microwaves. The microwave business is a very popular one that seems fixed on growing still. =**Hand Held Video Camera **=

**Matthew Del Tufo**
Hand held video cameras have evolved spectacularly since they first came about in the early-mid 1900's. They have gone from huge and clunky, to small, sleek, and able to fit in your pocket. There are numerous types of hand held video cameras manufactured now that virtually anyone can get a hold of one. At this point cameras and video recorders are typical parts of cell phones. No one is going to be shocked that your phone has the ability to take videos anymore, it is just expected. The free phones that are optional when you sign up for a cell phone plan all normally have these abilities now. Flip camera have also grown in popularity as well in recent years. They are able to take high quality videos in 720p HD, and are priced reasonably around $100. There are also just an extremely large amount of hand held video cameras available nowadays from numerous manufacturers ranging in prices from less than $50 to well into the thousands range. They are affordable on nearly every budget, but the old saying of, "you get what you pay for," holds very true with video cameras.

__** Motorola Xoom **__ Lindsay Hulme

The Motorola Xoom has multiple features that make it a comparable product next to the Apple iPad. The Xoom has a 10-inch widescreen display which is actually slightly thinner than the iPad. It has two cameras’, one in the front and one in the back. The battery life is about 10 hours which is also similar to the iPad. One feature on the Xoom that makes more sense is the layout of the tablet. It has a landscape layout rather than the portrait layout that the iPad uses. I personally would prefer a tablet technology in the landscape format. All these features pale in to comparison to the main function that Motorola boasts. The Motorola Xoom “represents the first real Android tablet sanctioned by Google, running an operating system designed explicitly for tablets.” This will be a huge determining factor in the amount of sales Motorola can produce and the success of the Xoom. This seems to be the biggest competition Apple has seen for tablet technology. I think the biggest challenge any company faces when going up against a technology Apple offers is that Apple has become a household name. Most people own one Apple product and would probably go to Apple first for another product rather than going out and finding another company.