Biz Break: Social networking numbers keep rising, Amazon’s new tablet and tech …
August 28, 2011 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
Today: More people using social networks. Plus, will Amazon be inspired by HP? And techs lead a mini-rally on Wall Street.
Social networking numbers rising
It might seem like everybody you know is on Facebook, but that’s quite not the case — yet. But they’re getting there.
A new study finds that two-thirds of adults in the U.S. who are on the Internet use social networks, according to the Associated Press. Of those under 30 years old, 61 percent were found to use social networks on a typical day. And it’s not just the younger crowd — the Pew study finds
that on an average day, 32 percent of baby boomers (ages 50-64) use Facebook, Twitter and the like, up 60 percent from last year.
“Baby Boomers are beginning to make a trip to the social media pool part of their daily routine,” said Mary Madden, Pew senior research specialist and co-author of the report.
Overall, half of all American adults are on social sites, according to Pew, a new high-water mark.
an eyebrow-raising announcement Thursday that, according to its data, Facebook hit a whopping 1 trillion page views in June. But you might want to take that number with a grain of salt.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Google came up with that figure (which would equal out to something like 15 Facebook views for every person on the planet) based on its DoubleClick Ad Planner rankings, which is a free tool it provides to advertisers. But before you try to count how many zeroes there are in a trillion, CNN’s MoneyTech blog notes that comScore, another widely used — and reportedly more trusted — measurement service, found Facebook had a mere 467 billion page views in July.
Still, that’s what we in the business call “a whole lot.”
Amazon tablet may take cue from HP
It took a severe price drop — to $99 in some cases — to make the HP TouchPad tablet a hit, and Amazon may be taking notice.
An inside source reportedly told the New York Post that Amazon’s upcoming tablet computer will be priced for “hundreds less” that the $499 Apple (AAPL) charges for its entry-level iPad. Amazon’s tablet, expected in September or October, will run on Google’s Android operating system, and analysts say the Seattle-based company may be willing to take a loss on tablet sales as long as they know there’s long-term profit in the sales of apps.
The Post says price may be the biggest weapon in tablet-makers’ attempts to gain market share from Apple. “We expect to see more and more lower-end, more-affordable Android devices enter the marketplace, which should further allow Android to increase its share,” Tony Berkman, CEO of ITG Investment Research, told the Post.
The blog Slashgear says you shouldn’t necessarily expect a $99 device from Amazon, but $299 might be more realistic while still being attractive to budget-minded consumers.
Techs lead mini-rally on Wall Street
The stock market
pulled a surprise mini-rally Friday, after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. is on track for long-term growth. The Associated Press reports that Bernanke initially disappointed many on Wall Street by saying there would be no additional stimulus measures for the time being. That sent markets diving, with the Dow down 220 points at one time this morning. But Bernanke’s long-term optimism and hint that further stimulus may be considered at next month’s Fed meeting may have provided a boost of confidence, as trading soon picked up and erased those early losses.
The major indexes snapped a four-week losing streak, and finished with their best week in two months. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was the day’s big winner, up 2.49 percent, or 60.22, to close at 2,479.85. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.21 percent, up 134.64 to 11,284.46, and the widely watched Standard Poor’s 500 index rose 1.51 percent, or 17.53, to 1,176.80.
Investors’ initial worries about Apple’s future without Steve Jobs appear assuaged; the Cupertino maker of all things “i” jumped $9.86, or 2.64 percent, to close the day at $383.58. Elsewhere in Silicon Valley, shares in Palo Alto-based VMware shot up 5.72 percent, or $4.59, to close at $84.77; and eBay (EBAY) rose $1.13, or 3.99 percent, to $29.46.
Silicon Valley tech stocks
Up: Apple, Googe, Oracle (ORCL), Intel (INTC), Cisco (CSCO), eBay, Gilead Sciences (GILD), VMware
Down: HP, Yahoo
Check in weekday afternoons for the 60-Second Business Break, a summary of news from Mercury News staff writers, the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and other wire services.
