E-Commerce Minute

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E-Commerce Minute: Wednesday -- April 29, 2015

The E-Commerce Times -- E-Business Means Business
http://www.ecommercetimes.com
Part of the ECT News Network

Headline Scan
Shiny Apple Has a Few Soft Spots
Amazon Goes Full Bore for B2B Commerce
When Elon Met Larry
Patent Holders: Google Wants Your IP!
VMware Draws on Open Source to Manage Cloud Micro Services
Marketing's Next Act
No More Smartphones, Nokia Vows
Modders Steamed over Valve's Revenue-Sharing Plans
The Great Apple Watch Marketing Mystery

Today's Story Highlights

Shiny Apple Has a Few Soft Spots
Apple on Monday reported another quarter of stellar earnings, detailing
its drive to 27 percent revenue growth on the backs of its iPhone, Mac
and App Store sales. The company generated $58 billion in revenue in the
second quarter -- about a $12 billion increase year over year -- and
posted a net profit of $13.6 billion, roughly $3 billion more than the
year-ago quarter.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/81991.html

Amazon Goes Full Bore for B2B Commerce
Amazon on Tuesday announced Amazon Business, transforming its 3-year-old
Amazon Supply B2B marketplace with new features and benefits, and a
massively increased product selection. Amazon Business offers customers
everything from IT and lab equipment to traffic signs, industrial deep
fryers and 55-gallon steel drums. Customers will need a business license
to register.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/81989.html

When Elon Met Larry
Tesla Motors founder and CEO Elon Musk reportedly almost sold his
electric car company to Google. Tesla was on the verge of bankruptcy,
and Musk had all but signed the documents that would have handed over
the company, according to an excerpt from the upcoming Elon Musk: Tesla,
SpaceX, and the Quest for the Fantastic Future . The book will be
available May 19.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/81986.html

Patent Holders: Google Wants Your IP!
Google on Monday announced it will open an experimental portal to
purchase patents from their holders between May 8 and May 22. The move
is widely seen as an attempt to shut off patent trolls. Patent holders
have to set the price at which they're willing to sell their IP, and
they will be told by June 26 whether Google wants to buy. Payments will
be made through ACH by late August.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/81985.html

VMware Draws on Open Source to Manage Cloud Micro Services
VMware last week released details about two new open source projects --
Project Lightwave and Project Photon -- that aim to bridge the divide
between the company's virtualization software and other vendors'
containers. Both projects integrate into VMware's unified platform for
the hybrid cloud, allowing the company to create a consistent
environment for cloud-native and traditional applications.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/81983.html

Marketing's Next Act
Marketing continues to heat up as the next big thing in CRM. It's so big
that I can see it splintering in multiple ways to accommodate all the
permutations that are suddenly possible, thanks to big data, analytics,
and a determination to get beyond using marketing technology as a
glorified accounting system designed to limit "losses" due to marketing.
You can't win by limiting your losses.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/81984.html

No More Smartphones, Nokia Vows
Nokia has kinda, sorta asserted that it's not returning to the
smartphone business, in the wake of persistent reports that it's been
eyeing a comeback. Nokia "currently has no plans to manufacture or sell
consumer handsets," reads a company statement. "The reports are false,
and include comments incorrectly attributed to a Nokia Networks
executive."
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/81980.html

Modders Steamed over Valve's Revenue-Sharing Plans
Valve last week announced that it was allowing players to sell video
game mods on its digital distribution platform, Steam, starting with
mods of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim , but its plans for policing the
marketplace and sharing revenue with creators have become points of
contention. Skyrim developer Bethesda Softworks is the only company
participating in the initiative so far.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/81979.html

The Great Apple Watch Marketing Mystery
The day Apple initially picked to launch the Apple Watch was in some
respects a dud. The device was not available for sale in Apple Stores on
Friday as previously scheduled, although it was available at some high-
end fashion boutiques. Confusion reigned over shipments, with Apple
earlier having said deliveries would be pushed back to June, but later
saying some preorders would be shipped early.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/81978.html

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