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Samsung Smart Phones

    You can enjoy full navigation on the latest Samsung Smart Phones.   

    One of the best things about the latest breed of Smart Phones from Samsung running Googles Android operating system is the inclusion of spoken, turn by turn Australia wide navigation from Navigon.

    The complete Australian Mapping is included on the supplied Micro SD card with most Samsung Android Smart Phones. This means you can enjoy full navigation with out the need for an internet or data connection, as the mapping works seemlessly in the background and location is plotted via the built in GPS of the Samsung Smart Phone.

So, for as little as $149 you can enjoy all the benefits of having one of the latest Android powered Samsung Smart Phones as well as full spoken turn by turn navigation by Navigon. By the way, Navigon is a Garmin company. Garmin is the biggest name in Navigation in the world.

Check out the Optus Samsung Galaxy Mini in White or Black and the Optus Samsung Gio. These fabulous Prepaid handsets come with FREE Navigon spoken turn by turn navigation from Garmin.

Tablets Make a Sweet Pill

    Many a word will continue to be written about the impact that Tablets will have on the human race.

    The humble tablet as we refer to them today can maybe be compared to that famous tablet of the late 90's that "kept people up all night".

    Statistics show that tablet usage is on the up, (no pun intended),  and of course we have the iPad from Apple to thank for that, just like we can thank Pfizer for bring the must have tablet for all night performance to market back in 1998. Coincidentally, 1998 is the same year Donna and I started Jenlist Distributors.

    It is estimated that usage of the Smart Phone and Tablet will see more people spending time surfing the Web next year on their personal Tablet or Smart Phone than they do on a traditional PC. It's hard to believe I am today referring to a "tradtional PC"  that in reality has only really been in common use in homes since about 1998, about the same time Pfizer and Jenlist had uplifting moments.

    But enough word play. I think you get my drift by now.

     As per the graph right, the average Android user (and this is the same for users of Apple's iPad and iPhone) spends almost an hour a day interacting with the Web or apps. This just shows that consumers that may have spent this time interacting with friends, watching TV, playing sport, etc has re-assigned their time to spend more of it surfing the web or using applications such as email, game play or social media interaction. So, they still interact with friends then, but on a broader scale with more people in further away places as well as locally.

    So, what is it I am trying to get at here? Simple, I think.

    If you are a retailer and want to be a part of this growth, then I strongly suggest you get involved in retailing products that these consumers are purchasing, get involved with Social Media to "talk" to your consumers, and embrace the future within your business.  An hour a day now will soon turn into 2 hours.

    Your customers will continue to upgrade their devices, and more often than not they will do this in a convenient and comfortable environment. Make sure your retail outlet is a comfortable environment to be in and make sure you offer the latest "smart" devices for them to purchase.

Happy "Up" selling (pun intended)

GNS Brisbane a Hit !

The final Group Newsagency Supplies (GNS) Trade Fair for 2011 was in Brisbane last weekend, and like the others in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney, the Jenlist team were pleased and excited to see so many of our newsagents visiting our stand. The hot items this year at GNS from Jenlist Distributors proved once again that newsagents are "thinking outside the square" when deciding on products to stock in their shops.

Prepaid Mobile Phones continue to lead the pack, closely followed this year by LED torches, car chargers, computer accessories and iPhone 4 cases. Mobile Broadband continues its running strength experiencing 66% growth year on year. 

Thanks to all the newsagents that take time out of your busy schedules to visit us and say hello.

A very special thank you to Newsgents that travel so far to attend the GNS Trade Shows. Many of you coming from far distant country areas is an inspiration and highlights the strength of the newsagency industry. Well done !

See you next year.

iPhone 5 release is the best - worst kept secret

The release date of the next incarnation of the Apple iPhone has got to be the best, worst kept secret in the world today.

Rumour after rumour flows in the press and online, with people claiming to "be in the know" informing the world of the precise time and date the iPhone 5 will be released.

There is no doubt that Apple have done a fantastic job of creating a brilliant Mobile phone, but even more impressive is the hype they manage to create for their flagship device. Anticipation builds for months and months and we have all heard or seen the stories of Apple "must haves" camping outside of shops waiting to be amongst the first to spend their hard earned on the latest creation from Apple.

I remember hearing an Australian journalist interviewed on the radio during the release date of the Apple iPhone 4 last year. During the interview his brand new iPhone 4 dropped the call 3 times, but he did not care and called the radio station back each time. What really caught my attention during the release report from this journalist was his statement : "Steve Jobs could take a dump in a brown paper bag and put an Apple logo on it, and I would buy that"

Talk about brand loyalty !

We would all love to have a following like that, with millions of people hanging on every breath waiting for the latest and greatest from a company that has managed to dominate the Smart Phone and Tablet market in recent years.

What is their secret? It can't all be about one man, can it? Or is Apple the king at giving people what they want? I guess we could debate this forever. Either way, it works.

Back to the release date of the upcoming iPhone 5. The best guess so far is early to mid October. I have seen some reports claiming an international release of 5th October. Your guess is as good as mine. There are also rumours of a low specced cheaper (than iPhone5) iPhone 4S. This is possible due to the fact that Apple released the specced up 3GS some 12 months after the 3G version.  

Interestingly, maybe some of the Apple sting is fading as Google powered Android devices are now outselling the iPhone world wide.

Time will tell.

Winners are Converters, Not Innovators !

Throughout history in business, it seems that the real winners are not the ones that invent the wheel, but those that convert, improve and fine tune.

First to market does not mean best. Apple did not invent the mobile phone, they simply took an exisiting, innovative product and impoved on it.

Microsoft did not invent an opertaing system for computers, they just took exisiting software to the next level.

Google did not invent the internet search engine. They perfected it.

So, what does all of this mean in business today? What does it mean in retail? I don't think we should be trying to re-invent our businesses, but rather working on improving and fine tuning. In our business we don't do anything that is new or innovative. We work at improving existing business practices, improving cusotmer service, improving marketing and display options and fine tuning all aspects of our business to challenge our own thinking and stay in front.

Retail is much the same. I have seen differnt attempts to change retail at store level, to change the consumer experience or completely remodel retail when it really seems the best changes to retailing are the ones that take a proven model and convert and improve on it.

If you have ideas about improving retail, converting existing methods of selling, changing displays from traditional in store ways, improving customer service or engaging staff in your business, then now is the time to start putting it into practice and sharing ideas with some of your fellow retailers. I don't mean you should talk to a competitor about improving their service, but rather use your network you are already in, be it a marketing or buying group, or shops in your centre or strip that can benefit from working together to "convert" to better retailing.

An example comes to mind where we took an existing, simple retail display tool, the humble dump bin, and simply changed our way of thinking about what should be displayed in a dump bin. Now, mobile phones are being sold in our retailers using this simple and cost effective method.

Have you "converted" the way you retail?