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A CNET (@CNET) article by Eric Mack (@EricCMack) reports on a new tablet poll by Maritz Research (@MaritzResearch) that simplifies the tablet market into 4 types of tablet customers based on the responses – low-end buyers, newcomers, single-minded buyers, and tablet-committed buyers. Statistically, 3 of the 4 types are dominated by women.

In other words, the profile of the average low-end buyer, tablet newcomer, and single-minded buyer (someone only interested in one particular tablet, most often the iPad) are all women in their 40s.

Single-minded buyers (21%): 60% female, average age is 41. iPad-only. Little familiarity with other brands, 78% purchasing the Apple iPad. 40% make purchase decision within 2 weeks.

Tablet-committed buyers (44%): 56% male, average age is 38. Highly aware of 3 or more brands, open to purchasing any brand. 58% purchasing iPad. 34% make purchase decision within 2 weeks.

Newcomers (13%): 60% female, average age is 46 and 29% over 55. Know Tablet brand names, but nothing else. 58% purchasing the iPad. 28% purchase within 2 weeks.

Low-end buyers (22%): 54% women, average age is 41, buy tablets based on price, want to spend less than $250, 45% purchasing the Amazon Kindle Fire, 39% make purchase decision within 2 weeks.

The household income of all four groups is roughly around $70,000 on average. Even the low-end buyers don't have a much lower average household income, at $62,000 a year.

Read this in full.

Read the poll in full.

Also see our previous blogpost, “New Study Reveals Generational Differences in Mobile Device Usage.”

Bookmark and use daily our SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Research tab.

In the September/October 2011 issue of Outreach (@Outreach), Bobby Gruenewald (@bobbygwald), pastor and innovation leader at YouVersion (@YouVersion), offered trend analyses to help church leaders be more effective in 2012:

1. Trend: Permanence to Mobility. Question: If people are increasingly mobile now, how does this shape the opportunities we offer to engage them in ministry?

2. Trend: Consumer to Producer/Consumer. Question: How can we move content creation beyond just our team and harness the creativity of the church?

3. Trend: Content to Conversation. Question: How can we build conversation around our teaching and what’s happening in our church?

4. Trend: Programmed to On-Demand. Question: How can we make what we do more adaptable? How can we go from one-size-fits-all programming to something that is highly customizable—when and where people need it?

Read this in full.

Bookmark and use daily Somersault’s (@smrsault) SomersaultNOW online dashboard; especially the Leadership and Innovation tabs.

Jeff Sonderman (@jeffsonderman), digital media fellow at The Poynter Institute (@Poynter ), suggests that ebooks are causing change not only in traditional book publishing; they’re also causing a shift in news journalism. Here are lessons he offers:

·         Shorten the production cycle.

·         Crime and politics are popular topics.

·         Different price points.

·         Need to add value.

·         Don’t forget print books.

Read this in full.

Along the same lines, Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) is launching Christianity Today Essentials, a new series of “natural length ebooks,” described by editor-in-chief David Neff (@dneff) as content “longer than a longish magazine article, yet significantly shorter than the typical print book.” He says, “The format allows you, the reader, to go deeper and learn more than you could from a magazine article, without committing the time or money demanded by a full-length book.”

Leadership Network (@leadnet) is beginning a new series of "natural length experiences" under the brand Leadia (@leadiatalk). "Each piece is limited to 10,000 words and has live links to audio, video, and websites." A Leadia app is available for iPhones and iPads.

And Patheos.com (@Patheos) is starting Patheos Press, a "publisher of original ebooks."

Also read our blogpost, "Ebooks are the New Pamphlets."

As for changes in how news is reported, Meghan Peters (@petersmeg), Mashable's (@mashable) community manager, assesses in “6 Game-Changing Digital Journalism Events of 2011” the progress for online journalism in 2011, from breaking news curation to new revenue models:

1. Paywalls Find Their Footing

2. NPR’s Andy Carvin Proves the Value of Social Network Newsgathering

3. Journalists Flock to Google+

4. Mobile Gets Competitive

5. Facebook Makes Personal Branding Easier

6. The Pulitzer Goes Digital

Read this in full.

And just for fun, here’s a video of what the help desk would look like back in the day when print books overtook scrolls.

Stay current with news about the publishing world by bookmarking Somersault’s (@smrsault) SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Students were shown a picture of a QR code and then asked questions like: Can you identify what this is? Do you know how to use it? How likely are you to engage with these in the future?

Here are just a few of our findings:

·         81% of students owned a smartphone

·         80% of students had previously seen a QR code

·         21% of students successfully scanned our QR code example.

·         75% of students said they are “Not Likely” to scan a QR code in the future.

Read this in full.

MarketingVOX (@marketingvox) reports that a study by Ypulse (@ypulse) finds that fewer than 1 in 5 students have ever used QR codes, nearly 2/3 of students have no idea what that are, and 6% have seen them but can't figure out how to use them.

According to comScore (@comScore), "the people more likely to scan a QR code are male (61% of code scanning audience), skew toward ages 18-34 (53%), and have a household income of $100,000 or above (36%). They also are more likely to scan codes found in newspapers/magazines and on product packaging - and do so while at home or in a store."

Last week, Nokia (@nokia) demoed a mindblowing prototype handheld device that lets you bend and twist the screen to complete actions like scrolling and zooming.

Meanwhile, Samsung (@Samsungtweets) said on an earnings call last week that it expected to debut phones with flexible displays in 2012 and that flexible tablets would follow.

The advantages of flexible displays are obvious: They're more durable, and they pave the way for new input methods, such as bending the display to zoom.

I think this technology will lead to the biggest breakthrough in mobile devices since the touchscreen. In fact, the next innovation in screen technologies may be an even bigger leap forward than touch displays.

Think not of a bendable display but of a foldable one.

Read this in full.

See Somersault’s previous blogposts “Revolutionary New Paper Computer Shows Flexible Future for Smartphones and Tablets” and "Flexible and Dual Computer Screens to Prepare For."

How will you prepare your publishing agenda for the advent of flexible screens? Let Somersault (@smrsault) help. And stay informed about the news of the future with the Future tab of RSS feeds and resources on SomersaultNOW.

Humor columnist W. Bruce Cameron (@wbrucecameron) takes on the electronic ereader industry with this essay:

Move over, Kindle: Cameron Industries, a mono-national corporation headed by CEO W. Bruce Cameron (no relation), announced today it will soon be marketing the "next generation" of portable readers. Dubbed the "book," Cameron predicts it will take the world by storm.

As described by Cameron, the book will mark major advances in current reader technology. Among them:

Battery life: While some manufacturers boast that their reading machines can have as much as 150 hours of battery life, Cameron claims that the (pat. pend.) "always on" technology used by the book means the battery life is actually longer than human life.

Read it in full.

It makes us think of another humorous look at the printed format: the Bio-Optical Organized Knowledge Device (BOOK):

Introducing the new Bio-Optical Organized Knowledge device, trade named B.O.O.K.

BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology; no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so easy to use, even a child can operate it. Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere -- even sitting in an armchair by the fire -- yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc.

Here's how it works.

BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, BOOKs with more information simply use more pages. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain.

A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet.

BOOK may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it.

Read this in full.

In an article in AdAge (@adage), B.L. Ochman, of What’s Next? (@whatsnext), explains why QR code campaigns fail:

·         Unreadable codes on billboards, too high up for people to get a clear scan; on ads in subways, where there is no cellphone reception for scans.

·         QR codes in TV ads. By time you run and get your phone, find the scanner, and try to take a shot, the ad's over.

·         No instructions. Not everyone knows what a QR code is and how to scan it.

·         Using a proprietary code so you need a specific type of QR reader to scan it.

Read this in full.

Although Adweek (@Adweek) derides this “World’s Largest QR Code” (able to be seen 2 miles in the sky), it may have the last laugh because of its PR value.

And AXA Bank in Belgium arranged thousands of different colors of cans of paint to form a gigantic QR code.

In an article for Media Post (@MediaPost), brand marketer Maryanne Conlin (@mcmilker) extols the convenience of QR codes as the overriding benefit when marketing to busy moms.

Read this in full.

And this article in Target Marketing (@TargetMktg) asks “QR Codes Vs. Short Codes, and Does Your Campaign Need Them?”

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you think through your QR code marketing strategy. Be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.