/C O R R E C T I O N — Limitless Computing/

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BOULDER, Colo. and CAMBRIDGE, England, May 14, 2012 — in the news release, Limitless Computing and ArtVPS Introduce Google SketchUp Rendering to the Cloud, issued 14-May-2012 by Limitless Computing over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that Google should be added before all mentions of SketchUp, rather than as originally issued inadvertently. The complete, corrected release follows:

Limitless Computing and ArtVPS Introduce Google SketchUp Rendering to the Cloud

Launching at the AIA National Convention and Design Expo, Booth 1908

BOULDER, Colo. and CAMBRIDGE, England, May 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Limitless Computing Inc.®, a leading provider of 3D mobile Augmented Reality, and ArtVPS Ltd, developers of Shaderlight™, the interactive rendering software for Google SketchUp, today announced the launch of Shaderlight Cloud Rendering powered by Limitless Computing. Combining the highest quality rendering from Shaderlight and proven technology from Limitless Computing, this innovative new tool delivers the fastest, most effective workflow for Google SketchUp users.

Shaderlight Cloud Rendering powered by Limitless Computing renders Google SketchUp animations up to 30x faster, and scenes up to 5x faster, delivering high resolution, photorealistic visualizations direct from Google SketchUp in hours, not days. It frees up desktop computers for other work, enabling Shaderlight users to handle multiple projects simultaneously.

Offering a low-cost alternative to rendering scenes and animations in-house, pricing starts from under $10, delivering high quality rendered images without investment in costly hardware.

Launching in booth 1908 at the AIA National Convention and Design Expo, Shaderlight Cloud Rendering powered by Limitless Computing will be available to all Google SketchUp and Shaderlight users in June.

Graham Wylie, CEO at ArtVPS said, “This launch removes any final barriers for Google SketchUp users’ wanting to deliver high quality renders, quickly, without tying up their systems. this is the natural progression for Shaderlight and we are delighted to be working with Limitless Computing on this exciting innovation.”

“Anyone who has limited hardware resources or a tight deadline will find this powerful solution a tremendous value,” commented Dr. Errin T. Weller, president, Limitless Computing Inc. “Animation sequences that would otherwise tie up workstations for days will be done on time and within budget.”

About Limitless Computing

Limitless Computing Inc. is a Boulder, CO-based company that has been providing cloud computing since 2006 and specializes in Augmented Reality. Limitless Computing brought Augmented Reality to Google SketchUp in 2011 with the release of the mobile application SightSpace 3D for Apple and added Kindle Fire and Android devices in 2012. (LimitlessComputing.com)

About ArtVPS

Founded in 2002, ArtVPS Limited quickly established itself as the leading developer of dedicated rendering hardware, developing the first processor designed exclusively to accelerate ray tracing of 3D data. ArtVPS is today leading the way in developing photorealistic rendering solutions that generate visually accurate representations of 3D scenes. Its revolutionary flagship rendering technology, Shaderlight, is a physically based, progressive ray-tracer that enables interactive, nonlinear changes to the materials, environments, lighting and textures at any stage within the rendering process – even on production-ready images. (artvps.com)

Limitless Computing and logo are registered trademarks of Limitless Computing Inc. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

SOURCE Limitless Computing

Amazon Kindle Fire - Amazon Kindle Fire 2 to be released before Christmas? - (20/05/2012)

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+Phil Lavelle   3 days ago   More articles by Phil Lavelle

Thinking already of what to buy your loved one(s) for Christmas? after all, we are almost halfway there!

If so, Amazon may have the gadget for you – it’s popular Kindle fire is spawning a successor – the Kindle fire 2 – and has reportedly been pegged for a release later this year.

However, if you want to get your mitts on one, you may have to do the less cost-effective journey across the Atlantic as it is unlikely to arrive here until next year. We don’t know that for a fact, but are basing that on the knowledge that the original Kindle fire hasn’t even turned up in Blighty yet – despite being out in the US for some time now.

According to Reuters, Amazon wants to get the 8.9-inch baby out of its warehouses and into customers’ letterboxes by Christmas to take advantage of that crucial Christmas shopping period.

The interesting thing here is just how much it will cost. Amazon is clearly wanting to make inroads on Apple’s tablet success (especially if these rumours of an iPad Mini are true) and so, pricing will be an important factor. There are suggestions that you could snap one up for as little as £200 with Amazon then recouping the money it lost from the cheap sales via the sales of eBooks, video streams and apps.

We’re looking forward to seeing it arrive here on these shores (indeed, we’re looking forward to seeing the original too) if only Amazon would hurry up and remember that life does, indeed, continue once you leave the United States.

- Reviews - Nokia Reader For Lumia: Is Screen Large Enough? - (20/05/2012)

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Nokia Lumia users in Europe can now download e-books from a dedicated hub for the Windows Relevant Products/Services Phone 7 device, raising the question of whether people are ready to read books on the small screen of their smartphones.

Users of the Nokia Lumia 800, 710, 610 and the new 900, which was released last month to strong reviews as the flagship of Nokia and Microsoft’s smartphone collaboration Relevant Products/Services, could already access location-aware navigation, photo editing, streaming radio and other content Relevant Products/Services from the Nokia Collection of applications accessible from the Windows Phone Marketplace.

‘World Class E-Book Experience’

The new Nokia Reading hub, offering searches in multiple languages, will allow “publishers, including Penguin and Hachette, and Pearson to launch a world class e-book and audiobook experience that’s been designed specifically for the Nokia Lumia,” the company said in a blog post.

Availability begins this week in France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom, with other countries to follow.

“While eBooks are becoming a common sight in countries like the U.S. and the UK, they are still in their infancy — or basically unavailable — in many parts of the world,” writes Nokia’s Ian Delaney in the company’s Conversations blog. “And this is where the strength of Nokia Reading lies: in local language e-reading content.”

E-books for the iPhone and Android Relevant Products/Services devices are also available but Nokia stresses that their service is optimized for phone reading.

a key selling point of the new Nokia Lumia 900 is its ClearBlack AMOLED 480×800 touchscreen which allows visibility in direct sunlight, and Nokia says that will also make for optimal reading visibility. The 900 screen is 4.3 inches, while the 800 is only 3.7 inches.

But senior mobile Relevant Products/Services analyst mark Beccue of ABI Research told us it remains to be seen if smartphone reading will catch on or drive Lumia sales.

not an Optimal Form Factor

“I think it’s possibly a stretch,” Beccue said. “If that was the case I think we would have seen an explosion of these products already in the marketplace. It’s not really an optimal form factor for reading long books.”

The Nokia blog post addresses the screen size issue: “If you’ve not read a book on a phone before, you may think that the words will be too small, but this isn’t something you have to worry about. on a Lumia, the ClearBlack display helps reduce reflections on the screen, and Microsoft’s ClearType technology renders fonts cleanly, without jagged curves.”

The type is resizable and the system has a night mode that makes the type white and background dark to reduce glare while reading in dim light or darkness.

Beccue said Nokia may have in mind markets outside the U.S. where the tablet Relevant Products/Services and e-reader markets are soft.

“Maybe outside the U.S. it will be more appealing,” he said.

another consideration: Nokia and Microsoft are believed to be collaborating on a Windows-based tablet, and this could be a way to build a market for content in advance.

“That would make a lot more sense,” Beccue said. “That’s exactly what Amazon did when they started an app store. you had to jump through hoops to get them on a smartphone, but then they came out with the Kindle fire.” 

- Amazon Kindle Books - Amazons Kindle Content Operations Leader to Head Aptaras Digital Solutions - (20/05/2012)

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Falls Church, VA (PRWEB) October 6, 2010

Aptara, Inc., a global leader in digital content production, today announced that Sriram Panchanathan, who most recently ran Kindle eBook Content Operations for Amazon, has joined Aptara to run its Digital Solutions division.

Since January of 2008, Sriram has set-up and managed mission critical teams supporting the Amazon Kindle Content Store, including content acquisition, customer support, program management, quality, and supplier management.

I cant imagine a more exciting time to be with a critical player in this industry, said Sriram. Aptaras reputation for innovation in meeting publishers digital content production and distribution requirements provides the perfect complement to my eBook operational expertise. I look forward to taking Aptaras leadership in digital content innovation to a new level.

Im pleased to bring Srirams experience of leading content supply chain operations for the worlds largest eBook and eReader distributor to Aptara, said Dev Ganesan, Aptaras President and CEO. Sriram will be responsible for expanding our digital operations to meet the exponentially increasing demand for digital content. Today, everyone is a publisher. Whether youre a book publisher or a multi-national corporation, every organization is discovering the challenge of delivering digital content to their customers, employees, partners and/or shareholders who now have sophisticated hand-held devices and expect content to be accessible when and where they want it.

About Aptara
Aptara provides digital publishing solutions that deliver significant gains in cost, quality and time-to-market for eBook publishers. Having converted tens of millions pages of content to eBooks, Aptara offers comprehensive solutions across all content sources and delivery media, including the Apple iPhone and iPad, Amazon Kindle, and Sony Reader devices. Aptaras expertise includes eBook production, content conversion, application development, custom content development, editorial & design services and content technology solutions. Founded in 1988, Aptara is a U.S.-based company with more than 4,000 professionals worldwide serving leaders in the Trade & Consumer, Professional, Corporate and Education publishing markets. For more information visit http://www.aptaracorp.com.

- Amazon Kindle Books - Make Smarter Decisions in Buying Books For Resale With Book Scouting Services - (20/05/2012)

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What is a book scout?

A book scout is someone that is searching for books typically for resale or for trading in for other books. A typical book scout is someone that visits book sales, bookstores, yard sales, thrift stores, etc to “scout” for books. Before the advent of online bookselling, a book scout was someone that would drive around to the local book stores and make deals with the book store owners, trade in some books and take those books to another dealer that was looking for them. He would upsell the dealer and make some profit in the mean time. Now, with online bookselling, the book scout has came onto a more generic term as anyone that is going out in search of books to sell either online or offline. You will notice a book scout at a library sale, for example, with one of those scanners, cell phones or PDAs, scanning books. They are using book scouting services

What is a book scouting service?

Book scouting services are services that are usually either installed on a cell phone or PDA that houses Amazon’s database of books with prices or is a streamlined website that provides access to Amazon’s database. It is software that you can use out in the field that lets you either scan a book’s ISBN number or manually type it in to see exactly how much that book is going for on Amazon at the time. Depending on if the software is offline or online, it can be real time information This is invaluable information to know because you will never make a bad decision on what books to buy

Types of book scouting services

There are two different types of book scouting services. The first one is an online service. This type of service gives you a webpage to go to that you can either scan in the barcode with you scanner to input the ISBN number or manually type it in. This kind of book scouting service is real time information directly from Amazon’s database. That is the big advantage of this service. The disadvantage though is because you either have to lug around a laptop to your sales or you have to have a cell phone with an Internet connection wherever you are. I know I have been in some remote places where I had no Internet connection at all and this definitely did not help me at all

The second kind of book scouting service is the offline kind. This usually consists of a website that you go to on your computer at home to download software and install it onto your cell phone or PDA. It also includes much of Amazon’s database of titles, prices and ISBN numbers. With this method you can look up books very quickly due to the fact that the information is local to your PDA or cell phone. The disadvantage to this is because the information can sometimes be dated. It all depends on when you originally downloaded the database onto your computer or how often the service actually refreshes itself from Amazon.

Do you really need a book scouting service?

The answer to this question is yes and no. Yes because it gives you excellent information when you are out scouting for books and allows you to make more informed buying decisions. No because it can sometimes be pricey and if you are a casual seller, it probably won’t be worth it. You can spend thousands of dollars on a wireless scanner, PDA, software and the monthly service itself. The costs add up very quickly with this type of service, but if you are a full time online bookseller and make thousands of dollars a month at this, it is most likely a necessity for you.

- Amazon Kindle Books - Why is There So Much Recent Interest in Online Bookselling? - (20/05/2012)

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It was only a few years ago that online booksellers had only a couple of options for listing their books on Internet marketplaces. Enter Amazon.com, and suddenly there were some radical changes in the landscape as well as a huge market for online booksellers. Amazon has modified the way many things are bought and sold through the Internet, but their greatest influence has without a doubt been with respect to books, CD’s, and other goods with standardized numbering systems, e.g., ISBN and barcode identifiers. When they began to allow third-party sellers to sell used items alongside the new ones Amazon was offering, many people, and certainly some other businesses, thought they were crazy, but Amazon.com maintained that they were customer-centric and intended to provide a marketplace where their customers could make their own decisions while being assured of a satisfactory experience.

Recently, some very interesting events have taken place that warrant at least a cursory look. Google introduced Froogle quite some time ago, but recently introduced Google Base which I believe is intended to be the long-term replacement for Froogle. Google Base offers a venue for online booksellers to list their Amazon inventory for sale and potentially a means for sellers to circumvent the sales commissions charged by Amazon.com. While Google Base is still in its infancy, once Google has all the details worked out and has integrated into their service a means for secure customer payment and seller notification, Base will in all likelihood be a real headache for Amazon.com. I say this because Amazon.com is accustomed to market domination and Google is not very well known as settling for being number two at anything. I am sure Amazon.com will counter with other incentives and features to maintain their position and market presence, but Google will go for position number one in online bookselling if they really decide to get into the business. The developments are going to be very interesting to say the least.

An even more recent development that lends credence to the value of the bookselling market was Microsoft’s announcement that they will be launching an Internet book search feature which will target only books in the public domain and those that publishers ask to have included which are under copyright protection. Thus, Microsoft is now at about the same point where Google was a few years ago, but is not targeting all books like Google first declared they would be doing.

So, why are Google and Microsoft so interested in books? The only logical explanation is that both see a way to derive substantial revenues from the sale of books. What I do not understand is why it took them so long to see this. Amazon.com is a multibillion dollar company with very respectable annual earnings, and surely Google and Microsoft were aware of Amazon.com’s business theme before now. Amazon.com did not get as big as it is by giving their services away.

Regardless of their motivation, it is great to see some industry giants coming into the picture; the competition for Amazon.com should only strengthen the industry and result in competitive marketplaces that offer booksellers and buyers a reliable and trustworthy transaction experience.

Now, if I could only raise the capital to start up a competitive co-op online marketplace that would only charge booksellers 5% – 10% commissions and no listing fees, I could jump into the action too. It would only take a hundred million dollars or so to get started, but the last time I checked my bank account I was a little short.

What I am realizing as a result of the big guys taking an interest in books is a surge in the public interest with respect to online bookselling. It is a huge market as evidenced by the involvement of Amazon.com, Alibris.com, Half.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Biblio.com, eBay.com, and dozens of other lesser-known marketplaces. With the addition of Google and Microsoft involvement, they must be expecting the future of online bookselling to be very lucrative, which begs the question of why more individuals are not getting into the business as either a full-time or part-time income source. The growth in the number of new online booksellers seems to be lagging the growth of the marketplaces, which indicates – at least to me – that there is substantial room for many more ambitious people to get into the business and realize a respectable income with enormous room for growth. One thing is for sure, those that get into it early and get established are the ones that are likely to be successful, and those that continue to procrastinate will be left in the dust by the ambitious.

- Amazon Kindle Books - The Associated Press: B&N, Microsoft team up on Nook, college businesses - (20/05/2012)

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B&N, Microsoft team up on Nook, college businesses

NEW YORK (AP) — Books and bits united Monday as Microsoft provided an infusion of money to help Barnes & Noble compete with top electronic bookseller Amazon. In exchange, Microsoft gets a long-desired foothold in the business of e-books and college textbooks.

With Microsoft Corp.’s $300 million investment, the two companies are teaming up to create a subsidiary for Barnes & Noble’s e-book and college textbook businesses. Microsoft is taking a 17.6 percent stake in the venture.

The agreement underscores the importance of electronic bookstores as traditional booksellers and technology companies jockey for position in the increasingly competitive market. while no definitive numbers exist, e-books are believed to account for some 20 percent of book sales in the U.S.

For Microsoft, the investment is a way to get back into the e-book business. it has dabbled in the field since at least 2000, but never developed much traction. it was Amazon that blew the market open with the 2007 launch of the Kindle, creating a potent challenge to Barnes & Noble’s brick-and-mortar bookstores.

Major Microsoft competitors Apple and Google now have their own e-book stores. all three companies are building businesses that encompass hardware, software and content in an “ecosystem,” and e-books and readers are part of the puzzle.

With that perspective, the deal is very important, said Walter Pritchard, an analyst with Citigroup. But he doesn’t expect any near-term financial impact from the deal, noting that even if the Microsoft-Barnes & Noble venture is successful, it leaves the Nook a distant second in the e-reader market, behind the Kindle.

The deal gives Barnes & Noble ammunition to fend off shareholders who have agitated for a sale of the Nook e-book business or the whole company, but the companies said Monday that they are exploring separating the subsidiary, provisionally dubbed “Newco,” entirely from Barnes & Noble. That could mean a stock offering, sale or other deal.

The deal also puts to rest concerns that Barnes & Noble doesn’t have the capital to compete in the e-book business with market leader Amazon.com inc. and its Kindle, said analyst David Strasser at Janney Capital.

Make Smarter Decisions in Buying Books For Resale With Book Scouting Services

What is a book scout?

A book scout is someone that is searching for books typically for resale or for trading in for other books. A typical book scout is someone that visits book sales, bookstores, yard sales, thrift stores, etc to "scout" for books. Before the advent of online bookselling, a book scout was someone that would drive around to the local book stores and make deals with the book store owners, trade in some books and take those books to another dealer that was looking for them. He would upsell the dealer and make some profit in the mean...

Continue...

Barnes & Noble inc.’s stock zoomed up $7.07, or 52 percent, to close trading at $20.75. The opening price of $26 was a three-year high. Microsoft’s stock rose 4 cents to $32.

The investment also means that Microsoft will own part of a company that sells tablet computers based on Google inc.’s Android, one of the main competitors of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s smartphone software.

Microsoft also said the deal means that there will be a Nook application for Windows 8 tablets, set to be released this fall. The app is likely to get a favored position on Windows 8 screens.

There’s already a Nook application for Windows PCs, but none for Windows phones.

William Lynch, the CEO of Barnes & Noble, said Nook software will continue to be available on devices like the iPhone that compete with Windows Phone.

He declined to say whether it was Barnes & Noble or Microsoft that initiated the discussions, but he said the talks had been going on since before the beginning of the year.

“We have been circling the relationship for quite a long time,” added Microsoft president Andy Lees. “When you think of different types of reading and what’s going to happen when that goes digital, it’s really quite dramatic to be bringing that to Windows customers.”

The Nook has pleasantly surprised publishers, who worry about Amazon’s domination of the e-market. Unveiled to skeptical reviews in 2009, the Nook is estimated to account for about 25 percent of the U.S. e-book market. The Nook helped to cut Amazon’s share from what was believed to be 90 percent to around 60-65 percent. David Pogue in The New York Times called the initial device “an anesthetized slug,” but praised the new Nook Simple Touch as a “very big deal” that offers “spectacular, crisp pages to read in any light.”

Barnes & Noble investors have also been concerned about the recent government lawsuit against Apple and some leading publishers over alleged price fixing. When Apple launched its iPad in 2010, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group (USA) and other publishers switched to an “agency” model that allowed publishers to set prices for e-books, a system many believe helped Barnes & Noble.

Amazon had been offering top-selling e-books for $9.99, a cost publishers, agents and writers believed was so low it could drive competitors out of business. Three of the five publishers sued— Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and the Hachette Book Group — have already agreed to settle, meaning prices for their e-books likely will again drop on Amazon.

Microsoft has a long-standing interest in the e-book field. it launched e-book software in 2000, but was never able to build a substantial library of books. It’s discontinuing the software on Aug. 30.

Barnes & Noble, based in New York, currently runs 691 bookstores in 50 states. The companies said that the subsidiary will have an ongoing relationship with Barnes & Noble’s retail stores, but what that relationship will be is unclear.

“The whole reason the Nook business is expanding so rapidly is because bookstores are committed to it and know how to market the product in that environment,” said Michael Norris, an analyst at Simba information.

The possibility of a separation of Barnes & Noble’s digital and college businesses has been brewing.

In January, Barnes & Noble said it was considering options for its Nook business, including possibly spinning it off or expanding overseas, and said it expected the review to be complete by the end of the year.

And in March, private investment firm G Asset Management, a Barnes & Noble shareholder, offered $460 million for a 51 percent stake in the company’s college bookstore unit, Barnes & Noble College Booksellers LLC.

Under that plan, the college bookstore unit was proposed to begin as a private business but become public within a “reasonable” amount of time. G Asset’s offer was contingent upon Barnes & Noble keeping current management in place and separating its Nook e-business from the rest of the company. At the time the offer was made, Barnes & Noble declined to comment.

In 2009, Barnes & Noble inc. bought the college bookstore unit from Chairman Leonard Riggio in a deal worth $596 million. The deal ended up costing Barnes & Noble $460 million after accounting for the unit’s cash on hand at the closing date.

AP Retail Writer Mae Anderson, Business Writer Michelle Chapman and AP National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2012 The associated Press. all rights reserved.

- Amazon Kindle Books - Is Your City One of the Most Well-Read Cities in America? « Literacy Help « Articles « Literacy News - (20/05/2012)

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As the summer reading months swing into full action, Amazon.com, inc. has revealed its yearly report on the most Well-Read Cities in America. the giant bookseller based its scoring on compiling sales information regarding book, magazine and newspaper revenues in both print and Kindle format since June 1, 2011, using a per capita structure in towns and cities exceeding 100,000 residents.

The top 20 most Well-Read Cities include:

1. Alexandria, Va.2. Pittsburgh3. Cambridge, Mass.4. Knoxville, Tenn.5. Berkeley, Calif.6. Seattle7. Ann Arbor, Mich.8. Orlando, Fla.9. Boulder, Colo.10. Columbia, S.C.11. Miami12. Bellevue, Wash.13. Arlington, Va.14. Cincinnati15. Gainesville, Fla.16. St. Louis17. Washington, D.C.18. Atlanta19. Salt Lake City20. Richmond, Va.

In looking closer at the data, Amazon also learned that:

  • Berkeley, Calif., is a city full of jet-setters – it lead the list by buying the most Travel books.
  • Boulder, Colo., likes to keep a trim waistline by leading the number of cities that ordered the most books in the Health, Fitness & Dieting niche.
  • Virginia is for lovers – Alexandria, Va., that is, which exceeds the charts in the Romance book niche.
  • Cambridge, Mass., encourages the most entrepreneurs to thrive. these local people lead the list for buying the most books in the Business & Investing niche.

In addition to its yearly most Well-Read Cities list, Amazon has released its official summer reading recommendations. Specialized lists for children and adults are available at:

Adults - amazon.comsummer-reading Kids – amazon.comsummer-reading-kids

- Amazon Kindle Books - Senior Citizens and Boomers Adopt New Technologies with SeniorsGuideOnline.com - (20/05/2012)

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The retirement resource website for seniors and their families for housing and home health care adopts new technology.

Richmond, VA (PRWEB) may 02, 2012

Reports from early 2012 are indicating that the use of new technologies among adults aged 55-65 are sharply on the rise. the data, interpreted by SeniorsGuideOnline.com acknowledges the trend of an older generation embracing the digital age.

A new report on new technologies released by IBM surveyed 3,800 adults from 6 different countries. the report, interpreting data from digital consumers, pointed to a surprising figure relating to the Baby Boomers and Senior Citizen generations. per the report, 65% of “early adopters” of new technologies were adults aged 55-64 – not overwhelmingly younger as would be predicted.

“Making tech simple for that audience is a key factor,” says Saul Berman, a global strategy consulting leader of IBM’s Business Services Division.

Some of the newer technologies American Seniors are using are QR Codes, e-reader and tablets, and a presence on Social Media – mainly Facebook.

A recent report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that Senior Citizens are the fastest growing segment of Facebook users in the US. Specifically, females ages 55 and older.

“Facebook has become a sort of, ‘one stop’ for older adults looking to keep in touch with younger family members and friends,” says Katharine Ross, Director of Publishing for Seniors Guide.

“Seniors can view photos, stay current on news, and even keep up with the family through status updates,” continued Ross.

Keeping older adults active is an essential element in prolonging life and combating loneliness. Seniors and their adult children can find local events in their area on Seniors Guide’s website through their event section. Cities with listed events are Richmond, VA; Charlottesville, VA; Roanoke-Lynchburg, VA; Raleigh-Cary-Durham, NC; Dayton, OH; Cincinnati; OH and Indianapolis, IN.

Another new technology popular with older Americans are smart phones and tablet devices. popular smart phone devices include the iPhone, Droid and Blackberry. the most popular tablet with older adults is the iPad. Barnes and Noble’s Nook, Amazon’s Kindle and the Samsung Galaxy tablet are also popular.

Seniors Guide has adopted the new Augmented Reality technology that can be used with all of these devices, by incorporating Hewlett-Packard’s “Aurasma” into their Seniors Guide Magazines. the first issue using Aurasma to ‘make print come alive’ will be the may 2012 Central Virginia (Charlottesville, Fredericksburg and Richmond) Seniors Guide.

In a poll study done by Harris Interactive in February 2012, it was found that the highest percentage of tablet and e-readers were not young people – but older American adults. It is estimated that 28% of US Adults aged 18+ are using these devices – and that 24% of that is 48-66 year olds, while 28% is adults aged 67 and older.

Since January of 2012, SeniorsGuideOnline.com has seen a little more than 12% of the site’s visitors browsing exclusively from mobile devices – such as the iPad, iPhone and SonyEriccson LT.

A popular feature of the retirement housing website is videos provided by retirement communities. by showcasing the community through video, seniors interested in moving from their current home to an active adult home, senior apartment or a nursing home can get a virtual tour before they reach out for more information. This also helps families get an idea of what kind of environment mom or dad will be transitioning to.

Early indicators are showing that 2012 will be the year that older generations of Americans adopt habits of technology similar to their younger counterparts.

Seniors Guide, a Richmond, Va.-based company publishes Seniors Guide magazines throughout Cincinnati, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Indianapolis, Indiana; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; and Roanoke-Lynchburg, Virginia and features a correlating website of SeniorsGuideOnline.com. Seniors Guide’s mission is to help seniors and their families find the information they need on options available in senior housing, senior care, assisted living, independent senior living, retirement communities and other retirement living needs. Seniors Guide also has resources at seniorproductsservices.com for Cincinnati, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; and Richmond, VA. Ross Publishing, Seniors Guide’s parent company, began in 1991 and has been publishing helpful, free publications and websites ever since.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/5/prweb9458802.htm

Android - Hands On: LinkedIn Windows Phone App Better Than iOS, Android Versions - (20/05/2012)

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Windows Phone Marketplace can check another major app off of its wishlist. LinkedIn quietly rolled out its Windows Phone app over the weekend and officially announced the release in a blog post on Monday. LinkedIn’s iOS and Android apps have been around for a long time, but now Windows Phone users are getting an especially slick and easy way to access all of their professional information on the site.

LinkedIn’s Windows Phone app takes advantage of the platform’s Metro UI and Live Tiles, creating a very different experience from LinkedIn’s other app offerings. You can still access all of the same resources, including updates from your connections, your profile, the latest LinkedIn news, groups you follow and your inbox. but the Windows Phone app offers a couple of extra perks.

The Windows Phone version includes “Jobs” and “Companies” tiles, which are missing entirely from the iOS and Android apps. From the “Jobs” tile, you can browse through suggested jobs, search for jobs, and save specific listings. You won’t, however, be able to actually apply to jobs through the app — you’ll need to go onto the browser-based site for that.

From the “Companies” tile, you can search for and follow various companies’ activities. LinkedIn is an especially useful tool for job hunting and networking, so having the Jobs and Companies tiles available on the Windows Phone app is a big plus.

Don’t expect the same level of LinkedIn access you get from the browser-based site, though. LinkedIn has created a powerful app that’s great for the on-the-go use, but there are features that you won’t get in the app experience. For example, you can’t edit your profile — a feature missing from LinkedIn’s other mobile apps as well. The Windows Phone app also doesn’t show full job descriptions on people’s profiles; you can only see the position title, company and duration at that job.

And, unfortunately, LinkedIn’s Windows Phone app isn’t without a couple bugs. each time I launched the app I consistently encountered one of two error messages. one was ambiguous, stating, “Oops, something went wrong, please try again.” but I had no problem browsing through the app after this message appeared. I also experienced an offline mode alert, even when I had Wi-Fi connection. I had to relaunch the app or wait for some time for it to figure out that I was, in fact, online.

Overall, LinkedIn for Windows Phone is a speedy, beautiful and useful app for people who want to keep connected to their professional networks. With a few upgrades, it might even compete with the social network’s browser-based experience.