Review: Latest Kindle Paperwhite right for you?

Kindle Pencil

As an avid iPad user, I never thought I’d ever have a need for an e-reader until I actually spent some time with one. I love books, all kinds of books, physical print books and e-books and when I need to read the latter, I always have an iPad or iPhone within arms reach. But after spending some time reviewing the newest Kindle Paperwhite, I realize it doesn’t have to be one or the other; this e-reader can certainly find a home alongside your favourite tablet.

For those familiar with the Kindle Paperwhite, the revamped 2015 model, replaces the original 2013 offering. Physically, the changes are hardly noticeable. The new incarnation still features a 6-inch greyscale display with e-ink, but it’s now 300 ppi (pixels per inch), up from 212 ppi with a resolution of 1430 x 1080, twice the number of pixels than before. They’ve also doubled the storage memory to 4GB.  [Read more…]

Forget “the box.” Think another dimension to access your creativity

silicontlesEDMONTON, AB, Dec 7, 2013/ Troy Media/ – Life can be pretty hectic. We often find ourselves running 18+ hours a day, and being electronically connected doesn’t make it any easier. So sometimes, when we are looking for a new idea, a solution to a challenging dilemma or maybe just have a desire to unlock one of life’s mysteries that’s been dogging us for eons, we tend to return to where we started, to the familiar and the comfortable, stuck in our current reality.

We think we’re starting fresh, perhaps with a clean sheet of paper. We might do some mind-mapping, a little brainstorming, throwing ideas around, capturing thoughts on coloured sticky pads. Maybe we resort to contorting pipe cleaners or squeezing the life out of stuffed toys to spark creativity or desperately hit up Google for some inspiration. It works, but only sometimes. It becomes our vicious cycle, being stuck on the same track, the same treadmill. But there’s hope.

[Read more…]

Marvel Comics servers jammed offering 700+ free #1 issues

Marvel1Free

If you’re a fan of comics, then you’ll be excited to know that for a very limited time, Marvel Comics in an unprecedented reader initiative is making available over 700 of their #1 issues free for download without any cost or obligation. But you’d better hurry it’s only for a a very short while and Marvel’s servers are already jammed up.

Read more…AT CANOE TECH BLOG

How to build insanely great customer loyalty

AppleExperienceEDMONTON, AB, Feb. 8, 2013/ Troy Media/ – You don’t have to look very far to find one the best examples of building insanely great customer loyalty. And if the words “insanely great” aren’t enough to let the cat out of the bag, maybe iPhone, iPod and iPad might just give it away.

Yes, it’s Apple! It has a plethora of fans, advocates and customers that not only buy, they also live, eat, sleep and breathe Apple. It’s no wonder Apple’s product announcements become huge events and why people are willing to camp out at all mall overnight like Edmontonian John Winslow or even days in line to be the first to get their new “iDevice”, when they could just order it on-line. Even Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs, stood in line for hours on more than one occasion to get an iPhone 4s, iPhone 5 and an iPad.

It’s this kindly of loyalty that helps the Apple store remain tops in revenue per square foot. Any businessperson, whether in retail or not, would want to know the secret of their magic; I know. I would.

In The Apple Experience: Secrets to Insanely Great Customer Service, by Carmine Gallo (McGraw Hill, 2012, 234 ppg.), we learn some of those secrets. Gallo interviewed scores of professionals and spent hundreds of hours at Apple retail stores. He takes us on a journey, sharing what he learned about Steve Jobs’ vision for the stores. He tells how the concept came about, what it was modelled after and even the secrets of landing a job at one.

But more importantly, Gallo illustrates how the customer loyalty is directly related to their Apple experience and Apple’s total commitment to its customers; and how businesses, if they wanted, could reinvent themselves and benefit by learning what Apple does.

Gallo’s analysis of the Apple model boils down to three-step action plan, each with a distinct area of focus:

1.Inspire your internal customer, i.e. the employees. Apple hires for attitude, not aptitude. Purple spiked hair, tattoos and leather may prevent you from gaining employment in certain companies, but if you’re the right person, for Apple, those things don’t matter. Gallo says the company trains and cultivates fearless employees who are encouraged to foster a feedback loop and keeping open, transparent and consistent communications with management. Their employees are willing to take initiatives to do what’s right and they’re empowered to take ownership. As a result, they become loyal customers themselves.

2. Serve your external customer. Ensure they have a consistent experience applying the five steps of Apple service: Approach, Probe, Present, Listen and End fondly. They approach, usually making eye contact within 10 seconds. They’ll quickly assess whether they can be of service; they’ll probe politely, asking meaningful questions, and then listen to what the customer has to say first rather than immediately imposing their opinions. Their presentation illustrates what the customer can do with their tool, the benefits and what the possibilities are rather than spew out a series of specifications. They guide customers, allowing them to make to their own conclusions and help unleash their inner genius while being considerate of their time.

3.Set the stage. Apple creates an environment is such is that they are focused on enriching lives. There’s an emphasis on relationship building rather than simply pushing for a sale. They want the customer to be clear in their minds before they buy and thus and Apple Store is never cluttered. They pay attention to detail with a simplistic and clean layout. All equipment is always functional. And when you are ready to buy, the cash/checkout is right there and wireless.

As I read through the book over a period of a few weeks, I put some of Gallo’s observations to the test. My local Apple retail store is very convenient as it’s virtually across the street from my home at Edmonton’s Southgate Centre mall, where I enjoy shopping and walk the mall four to five times a week. No, I did not apply for a job, but I did interact with employees and spent time just observing and, of course, playing. Setting the stage also includes offering a multisensory experience. Apple wants you to touch, play and interact. Ever wonder why displays are always set at 90-degrees? It’s because it forces you to touch it, to interact with it and set it to your personal preference. Clever, isn’t it?

While not everything was exactly as Gallo described each time, it came pretty darned close. I didn’t witness anyone bringing into the store a goat or having pizzas delivered, as Comedian Mark Malkoff did in July 2011 while having his iPhone repaired, but then again, I’m not there 24/7. Besides, this is Edmonton and it would have to be a moose and and a six-pack of Molson Canadian with the pizza.

Reading this book certainly gives an insight as to what Apple does at its stores to keep its customers happy and loyal and there are more topics covered in this 234 page book than mentioned here.

I did feel however that there was void in this book in two areas. First, it focuses on the retail store, with little or no discussion of the on-line or phone experience and that’s part of the entire Apple organization. Second, while Gallo mentions interviews, there does not appear to be any input from Apple itself. I’d be curious as to what the folks at Apple themselves would have to say.

Overall The Apple Experience: Secrets to Insanely Great Customer Serviceis a really good read. It doesn’t matter whether you like Apple or not or whether you are in retail of not, this book contain some real nuggets and some great stories that anyone in business or just curious can learn from and relate to.

Greg Gazin is a Tech Columnist, Small Business and Technology Speaker and Senior Editor at Troy Media. He can be reached at  Gadgetguy.CA on Twitter @gadgetgreg or you can find him on Empire Avenue at(e)GADGET1.

This article is FREE to use on your websites or in your publications. However, Troy Media, with a link to its web site, MUST be credited.

How to apply the Easy Rule of Life, Review of Look Ma Life’s Easy

courtesy: Ernie J. Zelinski

EDMONTON, AB, Dec. 1, 2012/ Troy Media/ – As an avid fan of Ernie Zelinski since his original release of the The Joy Of Not Working through toHow to Retire Happy Wild and Free and having read and re-read many of Ernie’s books over the years, I eagerly awaited the arrival of Look Ma, Life’s Easy.

While virtually all of Zelinski’s books have had his signature style – offering inspiring and thought provoking nuggets of wisdom and life lessons – this one is different. It’s written in a story style, in the form of a parable, a fable in some ways reminiscent of Robin Sharma’s, The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, but still uniquely Zelinski.

[Read more…]

Free Windows 8 e-books yours for the asking

Windows 8 Dummies

Whether you’re using Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7 or maybe even Mac OS, if you’re curious about what Windows 8 might have to offer you, Dell is offering up a free pocket electronic version of a reference guide covering Microsoft’s latest operating system, entitled Windows 8 for Dummies, Dell Pocket Edition.

Read more…AT CANOE TECH BLOG

Steve Jobs spirit lives on in iBooks 2 for iPad

textbooks_transformation_ibookstore

Jobs transformed the way we consume music, watch movies and use our phone, so why not the way we read textbooks? Although Jobs, is no longer with us, he certainly had at least “one more thing” cooking before his passing. Jobs was always big on education and using technology to enhance learning.  The reference in his biography where it said that he believed that the textbook publishing industry was an “$8 billion a year that was ripe for digital destruction,” was certainly a clue.

Read more…AT CANOE TECH BLOG

Blogging for Fame and Fortune – Book Review

Blogging for Fame and Fortune
While blogging has been around for a few years, and some believe it may already be passé, there are, still, currently over 50 millions blogs in cyberspace, with more being added every minute. …. More  Read Full Article at Troy Media