SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwire -02/22/12)- nScaled, a pioneering provider of cloud-based Recovery-as-a-Service (RaaS) solutions, today announced that it has completed a Series A round of financing, securing $7 million in investments from Almaz Capital and Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures, as well as leading Silicon Valley angel investors. The investment will be used to fund nScaled’s growth, including expansion of its global network of data centers and new software development, as well as sales and marketing efforts.
Peter Loukianoff, co-founder and managing partner of Almaz Capital, said, “In nScaled, we found a company that is in prime position to command a dominant role in the emerging market of cloud-based disaster recovery. nScaled’s technology platform will enable the company to broaden its service offerings in the future and allow customers to take full advantage of the cloud and its enormous economic and operational benefits. Cloud-computing is forcing dramatic structural changes in the way software applications are consumed by companies of all sizes and nScaled is well-positioned to capitalize on this tectonic market shift.”
“We invested in nScaled because we believe there is a gap in the market for technology that simplifies and reduces the cost of providing disaster recovery,” added George Powlick, managing director at Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures. “nScaled’s early success and the market’s acceptance of Cloud-based recovery services make us confident that nScaled will become a leader in the market.”
“2011 was a stellar year for nScaled. We tripled the size of our business by virtually all measures and we have similarly aggressive growth plans for 2012,” said Mark Hadfield, CEO of nScaled. “This funding will help us achieve that growth and position us as one of the dominant players in Recovery-as-a-Service.”
As part of its growth strategy, nScaled recently announced the availability of free accounts designed to provide prospective customers with a fast and easy way to discover Cloud-based disaster recovery, backup and archiving capabilities for their VMware data centers.
About Almaz CapitalAlmaz Capital is one of the leading venture capital firms serving entrepreneurs and companies with ties to Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Investors and strategic partners of the firm include industry leaders, such as Cisco, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the “EBRD”), and UFG Asset Management. Almaz Capital primarily targets early and expansion stage investments in high growth sectors, including Technology, Digital Media, and Communications. In addition to extensive experience in Russia and the CIS, the firm’s network in Silicon Valley offers portfolio companies an effective local investment partner with global reach. For more information please go to http://www.almazcapital.com/
About Doughty Hanson Technology VenturesDoughty Hanson Technology Ventures invests in exceptional entrepreneurs and management teams that have the passion, commitment and vision to conceive great ideas and build global businesses. Their investment strategy targets companies that develop sophisticated and proprietary technologies and focuses on three industry sectors: internet software, mobile communications and clean energy technology. For more information please go to http://www.doughtyhanson.com/
About nScaled Inc.nScaled provides Recovery-as-a-Service (RaaS) to mid-size companies worldwide. They provide an all-in-one solution for disaster recovery, business continuity, backup and archiving to customers with zero tolerance for data loss or downtime. nScaled’s customers are banks, law firms, hospitals, manufacturers, retailers, universities — any organization that needs to be ready for the inevitable problems that lead to data or server loss. All services are based on a global network of remote cloud data centers plus on-premises local cloud appliance, all managed as one secure, seamless infrastructure. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in London. For more information, please visit http://www.nscaled.com or write to info@nscaled.com.
http://tourism9.com http://vkins.com
2012年2月22日星期三
2012年1月27日星期五
MIPS Technologies Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2012 Financial Results
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MIPS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:MIPS – News), a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital home, networking and mobile applications, today reported consolidated financial results for its second fiscal quarter of 2012 ended December 31, 2011. All financial results are reported in U.S. GAAP unless otherwise noted.
Summary Second Quarter Fiscal 2012 Financial Metrics:
- Revenue was $15.3 million, a quarter-to-quarter decrease of 11 percent
- Licensee royalty units grew to 186 million units from 173 million units in Q1’12
- Non-GAAP net income was $0.6 million or $0.01 per share; down $0.04 per share from Q1’12
- Cash and investment balances ended the quarter at $110.7 million, representing an increase of $4.1 million from September 30, 2011
Non-GAAP net income in the second quarter of fiscal 2012, which excludes certain stock and non-recurring charges, was $0.6 million or $0.01 per share, compared with $2.6 million or $0.05 per share in the first quarter of fiscal 2012. The tables below provide a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures used in this press release to the corresponding GAAP results.
“Business conditions continue to be challenging in the semiconductor market, especially in the digital home and networking areas that comprise the majority of our revenue. MIPS continues to make inroads into the fast-growing mobile market, having introduced the industry’s first Android 4.0 ‘Ice Cream Sandwich’ tablet, and adding a new mobile licensee this quarter. We have new processor cores coming to market this year for which we already have advance orders. In addition, we are actively assessing alternatives to unlock the value in our portfolio of 580+ patent properties worldwide,” said Sandeep Vij, chief executive officer, MIPS Technologies.
MIPS Technologies invites you to listen to management’s discussion of Q2 2012 results, as well as guidance for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 in a live conference call beginning today at 1:45 p.m. Pacific:
- Live webcast: visit www.mips.com/company/investor-relations/ for a link to the listen-only webcast
- Live conference call: dial 312-470-0125; password: MIPS
- Replay call (available for 30 days shortly following the end of the conference call): dial 203-369-3229; password: MIPS
About MIPS Technologies, Inc.
MIPS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:MIPS – News) is a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital home, networking and mobile applications. The MIPS architecture powers some of the world’s most popular products, including broadband devices from Linksys, DTVs and digital consumer devices from Sony, DVD recordable devices from Pioneer, digital set-top boxes from Motorola, network routers from Cisco, 32-bit microcontrollers from Microchip Technology and laser printers from Hewlett-Packard. Founded in 1998, MIPS Technologies is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices worldwide. For more information, contact (408) 530-5000 or visit www.mips.com.
The MIPS Technologies, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=11351
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements; such statements are indicated by forward-looking language such as “plans”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “will”, and other words or phrases contemplating future activities including statements about future technology and growth. These forward-looking statements include MIPS Technologies’ expectation regarding improvements in financial results. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of different risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: the fact that there can be no assurance that our products will achieve market acceptance, changes in our research and development expenses, the anticipated benefits of our partnering relationships may be more difficult to achieve than expected, the timing of or delays in customer orders, delays in the design process, the length of MIPS Technologies’ sales cycle, MIPS’ ability to develop, introduce and market new products and product enhancements, the level of demand for semiconductors and end-user products that incorporate semiconductors and our ability to compete effectively with larger companies and other companies that are active in our markets. For a further discussion of risk factors affecting our business, we refer you to the risk factors section in the documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
MIPS is a trademark or registered trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
| MIPS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | ||
| CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS | ||
| (In thousands) | ||
| December 31, 2011 | June 30, 2011 | |
| (unaudited) | ||
| Assets | ||
| Current assets: | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $76,829 | $69,202 |
| Short-term investments | 33,907 | 40,194 |
| Accounts receivable, net | 1,036 | 2,619 |
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 1,784 | 1,615 |
| Total current assets | 113,556 | 113,630 |
| Equipment, furniture and property, net | 2,843 | 2,014 |
| Goodwill | 565 | 565 |
| Other assets | 12,757 | 5,418 |
| Total assets | $129,721 | $121,627 |
| Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity | ||
| Current liabilities: | ||
| Accounts payable | $1,192 | $1,684 |
| Accrued liabilities | 8,086 | 8,127 |
| Deferred revenue | 1,465 | 1,812 |
| Total current liabilities | 10,743 | 11,623 |
| Long-term liabilities | 10,474 | 5,231 |
| Stockholders’ equity | 108,504 | 104,773 |
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $129,721 | $121,627 |
| MIPS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | ||||
| CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATION | ||||
| (In thousands, except per share data) | ||||
| (unaudited) | ||||
| Three Months Ended December 31, | Six Months Ended December 31, | |||
| 2011 | 2010 | 2011 | 2010 | |
| Revenue: | ||||
| Royalties | $13,224 | $14,817 | $26,203 | $28,431 |
| License and contract revenue | 2,077 | 7,039 | 6,315 | 15,964 |
| Total revenue | 15,301 | 21,856 | 32,518 | 44,395 |
| Costs and expenses: | ||||
| Cost of sales | 344 | 311 | 605 | 897 |
| Research and development | 8,278 | 7,090 | 16,184 | 12,951 |
| Sales and marketing | 3,892 | 4,925 | 8,723 | 8,838 |
| General and administrative | 3,339 | 3,739 | 6,603 | 6,891 |
| Total costs and expenses | 15,853 | 16,065 | 32,115 | 29,577 |
| Operating income (loss) | (552) | 5,791 | 403 | 14,818 |
| Other income, net | 14 | 821 | 67 | 757 |
| Income (loss) before income taxes | (538) | 6,612 | 470 | 15,575 |
| Provision for income taxes | 434 | 776 | 919 | 2,123 |
| Income (loss) from continuing operations | (972) | 5,836 | (449) | 13,452 |
| Income from discontinued operations, net of tax | – | 212 | – | 212 |
| Net income (loss) | $(972) | $6,048 | $(449) | $13,664 |
| Net income (loss) per share, basic — from continuing operations | $(0.02) | $0.12 | $(0.01) | $0.28 |
| Net income (loss) per share, basic — from discontinued operations | $– | $0.00 | $– | $0.00 |
| Net income (loss) per share, basic | $(0.02) | $0.12 | $(0.01) | $0.28 |
| Net income (loss) per share, diluted — from continuing operations | $(0.02) | $0.11 | $(0.01) | $0.26 |
| Net income (loss) per share, diluted — from discontinued operations | $– | $0.00 | $– | $0.00 |
| Net income (loss) per share, diluted | $(0.02) | $0.11 | $(0.01) | $0.26 |
| Common shares outstanding, basic | 52,886 | 50,394 | 52,773 | 48,629 |
| Common shares outstanding, diluted | 52,886 | 53,703 | 52,773 | 51,921 |
| MIPS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | ||
| CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (unaudited) | ||
| (In thousands) | ||
| Six Months Ended December 31, | ||
| 2011 | 2010 | |
| Operating activities: | ||
| Net income (loss) – continuing operations | $(449) | $13,452 |
| Depreciation | 471 | 508 |
| Stock-based compensation | 2,953 | 2,143 |
| Amortization of intangible assets | 252 | 55 |
| Gain on exchange and sale of investment | – | (547) |
| Amortization of investment premium, net | 265 | 268 |
| Other non-cash charges | 139 | 25 |
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||
| Accounts receivable | 1,500 | 3,202 |
| Prepaid expenses | (230) | (691) |
| Other assets | 791 | 2,287 |
| Accounts payable | (613) | 42 |
| Accrued liabilities | (3,620) | (2,937) |
| Deferred revenue | (488) | (70) |
| Long-term liabilities | 53 | (1,158) |
| Net cash provided by operating activities — continuing operations | 1,024 | 16,579 |
| Net cash provided by operating activities — discontinued operations | – | 212 |
| Net cash provided by operating activities | 1,024 | 16,791 |
| Investing activities: | ||
| Purchases of marketable securities | (22,588) | (34,344) |
| Proceeds from sales of marketable securities | 2,613 | 5,075 |
| Proceeds from maturities of marketable securities | 26,000 | 10,650 |
| Capital expenditures | (659) | (572) |
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | 5,366 | (19,191) |
| Financing activities: | ||
| Net proceeds from issuance of common stock | 1,269 | 32,242 |
| Net cash provided by financing activities | 1,269 | 32,242 |
| Effect of exchange rates on cash | (32) | 77 |
| Net increase in cash and cash equivalents | 7,627 | 29,919 |
| Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period | 69,202 | 31,625 |
| Cash and cash equivalents, end of period | $76,829 | $61,544 |
| MIPS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | ||||
| RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP NET INCOME (LOSS) and NET INCOME (LOSS) PER SHARE | ||||
| (In thousands, except per share data) | ||||
| (unaudited) | ||||
| Three Months Ended December 31, 2011 | Three Months Ended September 30, 2011 | Three Months Ended December 31, 2010 | ||
| GAAP net income (loss) | $(972) | $523 | $6,048 | |
| Net income (loss) per basic share | $(0.02) | $0.01 | $0.12 | |
| Net income (loss) per diluted share | $(0.02) | $0.01 | $0.11 | |
| (a) | Stock-based compensation expense | 1,412 | 1,541 | 1,249 |
| (b) | Severance adjustment | 49 | 312 | – |
| (c) | Expenses related to stockholder activities | 158 | 265 | – |
| (d) | Tax on change in legal structure | – | – | 937 |
| (e) | Gain from discontinued operations, net of tax | – | – | (212) |
| (f) | Gain on investment | – | – | (547) |
| Non-GAAP net income | $647 | $2,641 | $7,475 | |
| Non-GAAP net income per basic share | $0.01 | $0.05 | $0.15 | |
| Non-GAAP net income per diluted share | $0.01 | $0.05 | $0.14 | |
| Common shares outstanding — basic | 52,886 | 52,660 | 50,394 | |
| Common shares outstanding — diluted | 53,658 | 53,690 | 53,703 | |
These adjustments reconcile the Company’s GAAP results of operations to the reported non-GAAP results of operations. The Company believes that presentation of net income (loss) and net income (loss) per share excluding stock-based compensation expense, severance, expenses related to stockholder activities, tax on change in legal structure, gain from discontinued operations, net of tax, and gain on investment provides meaningful supplemental information to investors, as well as management, that is indicative of the Company’s ongoing operating results and facilitates comparison of operating results across reporting periods. The Company uses these non-GAAP measures when evaluating its financial results as well as for internal planning and budgeting purposes. These non-GAAP measures should not be viewed as a substitute for the Company’s GAAP results, and may be different than non-GAAP measures used by other companies.
(a) This adjustment reflects the stock-based compensation expense. For the second quarter of fiscal 2012 ending December 31, 2011, $1.4 million stock-based compensation expense was allocated as follows: $532,000 to research and development, $239,000 to sales and marketing and $641,000 to general and administrative. For the first quarter of fiscal 2012 ending September 30, 2011, $1.5 million stock-based compensation expense was allocated as follows: $463,000 to research and development, $496,000 to sales and marketing and $582,000 to general and administrative. For the second fiscal quarter of fiscal 2011 ending December 31, 2010, $1.2 million stock-based compensation expense was allocated as follows: $364,000 to research and development, $304,000 to sales and marketing and $581,000 to general and administrative.
(b) This adjustment reflects the severance to the Company’s former executives. For the second quarter of fiscal 2012 ending December 31, 2011, $49,000 was allocated to general and administrative. For the first quarter of fiscal 2012 ending September 30, 2011, $312,000 was allocated to sales and marketing.
(c) This adjustment reflects the expenses in response to our activities and inquiries of Starboard Value LP allocated to general and administrative.
(d) This adjustment reflects the withholding tax in connection with the change in legal structure of foreign operations.
(e) The adjustment reflects the gain, net of tax, of the Analog Business Group.
(f) The adjustment reflects a gain on an investment in a privately held company that was acquired. This gain was recorded in other income.
| MIPS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | |||
| RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP NET INCOME (LOSS) and NET INCOME (LOSS) PER SHARE | |||
| (In thousands, except per share data) | |||
| (unaudited) | |||
| Six Months Ended December 31, 2011 | Six Months Ended December 31, 2010 | ||
| GAAP net income (loss) | $(449) | $13,664 | |
| Net income (loss) per basic share | $(0.01) | $0.28 | |
| Net income (loss) per diluted share | $(0.01) | $0.26 | |
| (g) | Stock-based compensation expense | 2,953 | 2,143 |
| (h) | Severance adjustment | 361 | – |
| (i) | Expenses related to stockholder activities | 423 | – |
| (j) | Tax on change in legal structure | – | 937 |
| (k) | Gain from discontinued operations, net of tax | – | (212) |
| (l) | Gain on investment | – | (547) |
| Non-GAAP net income | $3,288 | $15,985 | |
| Non-GAAP net income per basic share | $0.06 | $0.33 | |
| Non-GAAP net income per diluted share | $0.06 | $0.31 | |
| Common shares outstanding — basic | 52,773 | 48,629 | |
| Common shares outstanding — diluted | 53,702 | 51,921 | |
These adjustments reconcile the Company’s GAAP results of operations to the reported non-GAAP results of operations. The Company believes that presentation of net income (loss) and net income (loss) per share excluding stock-based compensation expense, severance, expenses related to stockholder activities, tax on change in legal structure, gain from discontinued operations, net of tax, and gain on investment provides meaningful supplemental information to investors, as well as management, that is indicative of the Company’s ongoing operating results and facilitates comparison of operating results across reporting periods. The Company uses these non-GAAP measures when evaluating its financial results as well as for internal planning and budgeting purposes. These non-GAAP measures should not be viewed as a substitute for the Company’s GAAP results, and may be different than non-GAAP measures used by other companies.
(g) This adjustment reflects the stock-based compensation expense. For the six months ending December 31, 2011, $3.0 million stock-based compensation expense was allocated as follows: $995,000 to research and development, $735,000 to sales and marketing and $1.2 million to general and administrative. For the six months ending December 31, 2010, $2.1 million stock-based compensation expense was allocated as follows: $655,000 to research and development, $535,000 to sales and marketing and $953,000 to general and administrative.
(h) This adjustment reflects the severance to the Company’s former executives. For the six months ending December 31, 2011, $361,000 was allocated as follows: $312,000 to sales and marketing and $49,000 to general and administrative.
(i) This adjustment reflects the expenses in response to our activities and inquiries of Starboard Value LP allocated to general and administrative.
(j) This adjustment reflects the withholding tax in connection with the change in legal structure of foreign operations.
(k) The adjustment reflects the gain, net of tax, of the Analog Business Group.
(l) The adjustment reflects a gain on an investment in a privately held company that was acquired. This gain was recorded in other income.
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2012年1月12日星期四
Robust Retailer Investment in Search Drives Strong Q4
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– The year ended with an extremely strong Q4 for online advertising as U.S. paid search spending grew 22% year-over-year resulting in the best quarter to date. Retailers drove much of this spending, as holiday shopping initiatives pushed their search budgets up 26% year-over-year. Mobile search advertising among retailers was up a huge 269% YoY and accounted for 14% of total retail search budgets – peaking at 24% on Black Friday.
These figures are released quarterly by IgnitionOne, a leading digital marketing firm, managing more than $1 billion in online advertising.
Key findings in the report:
IgnitionOne’s complete Q4 Global Online Advertising Report can be downloaded here.
This report is the latest in a series of reports from IgnitionOne reviewing trends across the online advertising landscape. Previous quarterly reports can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/ignitiononeresearch
About IgnitionOne
IgnitionOne is the world’s first closed loop Digital Marketing Suite, offering multiple solutions to improve online performance within a single interface. Solutions include ad management and optimization (search, display and Facebook), cross-channel attribution and website optimization.
Ignition One currently powers more than $30 billion in revenue each year for some of the world’s leading online marketers, including General Motors, Chico’s, Ann Taylor, Fiat and advertising agencies such as MRM Worldwide, CyberAgent and more.
For more information, please visit http://www.ignitionone.com or follow the company on Twitter @ignitionone.
http://tourism9.com/
These figures are released quarterly by IgnitionOne, a leading digital marketing firm, managing more than $1 billion in online advertising.
Key findings in the report:
- U.S. Mobile search is growing at an enormous rate – YoY mobile search ad impressions are up 317% and spend is up 269%. Among retailers, mobile search ad spend accounted for 14.2% of total paid search budgets, compared to 5.2% last year. This spiked on Black Friday with 24% of retail search ad spend going towards mobile queries.
- U.S. Search advertising has its best quarter ever – It was a strong holiday season for search with advertising spend up 22% YoY in Q4. Search advertising spend among retailers was up even higher at 26% YoY. There were also large YoY increases in impressions (42%), clicks (42%) and transactions (67%).
- U.S. Search costs (CPCs) declining – In total, Q4 CPCs are down -8.6% YoY and -2.3% compared to last quarter. This trend benefits marketers as clicks cost less while monetizing at the same rate and benefits Google through expanding impression base and higher clickthrough rates pointing to revenue growth for Google. The trend is driven by Google, as Yahoo!/Bing saw a YoY 6.4% increase in CPCs.
- Google retains U.S. market share lead – In mid-Q4, Yahoo!/Bing held only a 16.6% share of the search market, but as expected, given its retail consumer focus, it rebounded with a stronger holiday shopping season. However, by the end of Q4, search market share remained largely unchanged from the previous quarter, with Google commanding 81.8% compared to Yahoo!/Bing at 18.2%.
- Europe search advertising also on the rise – Q4 shows gains for European search advertising as spend increased 14%, clicks increased 22% and Clickthrough Rate (CTR) increased 19%.
- Google continues to grow in display – U.S. spending on display advertising was up 9.3% and impressions were up 31.5%. The growth for Q4 came from Google’s DoubleClick Ad Exchange, which saw a 105.5% increase in spend.
IgnitionOne’s complete Q4 Global Online Advertising Report can be downloaded here.
This report is the latest in a series of reports from IgnitionOne reviewing trends across the online advertising landscape. Previous quarterly reports can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/ignitiononeresearch
About IgnitionOne
IgnitionOne is the world’s first closed loop Digital Marketing Suite, offering multiple solutions to improve online performance within a single interface. Solutions include ad management and optimization (search, display and Facebook), cross-channel attribution and website optimization.
Ignition One currently powers more than $30 billion in revenue each year for some of the world’s leading online marketers, including General Motors, Chico’s, Ann Taylor, Fiat and advertising agencies such as MRM Worldwide, CyberAgent and more.
For more information, please visit http://www.ignitionone.com or follow the company on Twitter @ignitionone.
http://tourism9.com/
2012年1月3日星期二
Artprice Launches its Online Auctions
PARIS , January 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ –
As announced in previous press releases, Artprice, with its 1.3 million members in more than 90 countries, and in its capacity as an online auction broker (“opérateur de courtage aux enchères réalisées à distance par voie électronique”, Article 5 of French Law no. 2011-850 of 20 July 2011 ) will be launching its online auctions service on 18 January 2012 .
Since 27 December 2011 , Artprice members have been able to prepare their ads in order to gain the maximum benefit from the visibility of Artprice’s global launch campaign. For further information please visit: http://web.artprice.com/classifieds/info?l=en
Although more than 90% of the art market was closed between Christmas and the New Year, Artprice has already registered several thousand lots for sale. Our initial client feedback suggests that users find the service very quick and simple to use.
According to thierry Ehrmann, the founder and CEO of Artprice, “the train of History is now definitively rolling and Artprice is on that train, which nothing can stop from now on. It took twelve years and lots of patience and conviction to pursue a legal battle against a 500 year-old monopoly that is today demolished”. Breaking this monopoly is a victory for Artprice; but it is also beneficial to France that has been losing its attractiveness as an art market for over 40 years, slipping from the first to the fourth position, and which, this year, with the help of Artprice, can hope to recover a position worthy of its tradition and its influence on the art market.
On Monday 2 January 2012 , Artprice launched a global campaign in art and financial media, focused on the USA , Europe and Asia , alongside a “viral marketing” campaign on the Internet.
On Monday 9 January 2012 , Artprice will start the presentation of lots to be auctioned in chronological harmony with the art market which, every year, kicks off in the second week of January.
A level of security rarely attained on the Internet.
Our alliance with Escrow.com, the global leader in the management of escrow accounts, provides a 100% guarantee of security and payment for the parties to all transactions. The service provided by Escrow.com has been specifically tailored to meet all of Artprice’s rigorous requirements. Artprice’s capacity to offer 100% transaction security relies on its excellent knowledge of the digital economy and developments in the fields of information technology and Internet law. Indeed, we can affirm with complete confidence that the security of Artprice’s online auctions and other services is greater than that offered by traditional auctions and non-internet transactions.
Artprice works on the fundamental principle of perfectly identified members and, via an agreement with INTERPOL, buyers can access at any moment the latter’s international Stolen Works of Art database to check if a work being offered for sale is subject to any legal dispute or search warrant.
Unlike certain well-known general online auction companies, Artprice imposes a permanent legal presence on its clientele to ensure the smooth operation of its online auction brokerage activities via its Standardised Marketplace. Artprice’s contacts over the past 5 years with approximately 70 criminal investigation departments around the world has allowed Artprice to build an unrivalled level of Internet confidence that is strengthened by its constant collaboration with artists, beneficiaries and experts.
The real strength of Artprice is its use of an escrow and payment release system for which Artprice has conceptualised all possible legal scenarios to ensure that completed transactions are legally irreversible and to provide a level of security rarely attained in the Internet sphere. This escrow system functions on exactly the same principle as that used by solicitors and lawyers for various kinds of transactions.
The very low commissions charged by Artprice completely alter the dynamic of the art market.
Art professionals, collectors and beneficiaries will be inexorably drawn to use Artprice’s service because its low commissions modify the fundamental reality of the secondary art market. Its rates decrease from 9% to 5% depending on the value (in USD) of the transaction: 9% from 0 to 7,500 dollars ; 7% from 7,500.01 to 15,000 dollars and 5% for transactions over 15,000.01 dollars . According to thierry Ehrmann, the 5% rate for works offered at over 15,000.01 euros could attract entire sections of the Art market to this modus operandi because works in that price bracket are perfectly standardised and have been bought and sold for nearly 30 years, almost always “remotely”, in view of the legal documents that vendors are obliged to produce on Artprice.
In parallel, Artprice is setting up white labels for major players in the art market, notably Auction Houses, that will use Artprice and its Standardised Marketplace as their technical host for online auctions, thereby providing Artprice -which is not an auctioneer- with another source of income.
Artprice is therefore open to demand from over 3,600 client and partner auctioneers and more than 7,400 art valuers who have already concretely manifested their vital need to join Artprice’s standardised marketplace in order to maintain their positions in the global art market and survive the necessary transition to a dematerialised art auction environment.
Internet, and more generally the digital revolution, has literally destroyed the global mono-economy of physical auction rooms, which today are just one channel for auctioneers to use and which -usually located in city centres- either represent an expensive (and now superfluous) rental cost or an under-exploited real estate asset.
In the context of a deeper than ever global economic and financial crisis, Artprice has once again -as in 2008- observed a very sharp increase in the number of works offered for sale through its Standardised Marketplace, with an acceleration of buy-to-sell operations. We can therefore assume that auction sales will follow the same growth path. Indeed, we are of the view that the economic and financial crisis represents a strong growth opportunity for Artprice’s Standardised Marketplace.
In fact, the history of the art market – like all markets – is naturally heading towards the circuits that are the fastest, the least expensive, the most liquid, where the price can be obtained in real-time and where there is a critical mass of participants with – of course – access to transparent information on all prices and indices.
Artprice’s Standardised Marketplace meets these five specific and vital needs for a modern market. Artprice, with its completely toll-free access model for its Standardised Marketplace, is absorbing the global market of private art sales faster than initially expected. With our extremely attractive rates we now expect to see the same pace of growth with our online auction service.
Over nearly 7 years Artprice has seen exponential growth of the offer on its Standardised Marketplace (the annual figures are available in Artprice’s 2010 Registration Document and online at the AMF under number D.11-0784 since 25 August 2011 ). In 2010, Artprice confirmed a total volume of artworks offered worth nearly 6.3 billion euros with a sales rate of approximately one third, for which Artprice received no commission.
We should point out that only Artprice holds and protects, as intellectual property, the entire process for joining the Standardised Marketplace® and for side-stepping the traditional system of physical auction rooms. Indeed, the situation may justifiably be compared to the old Stock Exchanges before the arrival of the ECNs (Electronic Communication Network) that made the outcry halls redundant on the majority of the world’s major stock markets, primarily by reducing the intermediation costs.
Art… a veritable safe haven investment in times of major crisis.
The economic and business media (Le Monde, The New York Times , the F.T. the A.F.P., Reuters, Bloomberg, etc.) regularly indicate that quality art represents a genuine safe haven in major crises. Artprice, Christie’s, Sotheby’s and the major international auctioneers also confirm the safe haven status of artworks (c.f. the Agefi’s interview with Artprice). In fact, despite the sombre economic and financial global context in 2011, the global art market posted extremely positive figures both in terms of volumes and prices in all countries, and numerous artists in Artprice’s global Top 500 posted new records.
This confidence is manifest on all continents. Like gold, artworks have for centuries been defensive investments in major crises and particularly in the context of sharp meltdowns in financial asset values such as those that the global economy is likely to continue experiencing in 2012/2013.
Artprice will soon be announcing alliances that will allow a presence on all continents with local partners.
The future of Artprice in 2012 and of the Art Market is unavoidably linked to Asia .
Artprice was the first press agent in the world to announce and certify figures in 2011 showing that China had unquestionably become the world’s leading art marketplace ahead of the USA in 2011. Artprice’s figures for 2011 have already confirmed China’s domination of the global art market for the second consecutive year.
There is therefore an irresistible logic to Artprice’s patient preparation for the opening of its subsidiary and clean rooms in Hong Kong that will be a testing ground for the People’s Republic of China and an entry point for Asia . Hong Kong is already one of the top five global art marketplaces. Likewise, agreements with major players such as online auction operators and major Asian art fairs will allow Artprice to extend the diffusion initiated in 2011 of its Asia -specific art market reports, country by country. As a simple example, Singapore should soon overtake France in the field of Contemporary Art sales. In this context Artprice and Art Stage Singapore, Asia’s largest Contemporary Art Fair (along with Art HK), have decided to intensify their editorial partnership and their marketing strategy in 2012. Artprice will also be a strategic partner with Art HK ( Hong Kong ).
The Internet’s absolute domination of the art market in 2012.
In 2012 Internet is therefore just a simple extension of the 1980s telephonic order with, in addition, a perfect reproduction of the work for the buyer and Artprice’s remarkable success is proof of this…. there remained therefore a final step and indeed the hardest step: the standardisation of the marketplace that Artprice has achieved in 14 years by imposing its unique and free standard via its Standardised Marketplace ®.
From 1987 to 2004, Artprice’s databanks became the reference in this area and made Artprice the global leader in standardised art market information before it turned to the problem of market dematerialisation. This latter project fully exploits the standardisation represented by its 18 databases, fed by acquisitions around the world of publishers and art archives.
All of the industrial processes forming Artprice’s databanks are patent protected, notably by the A.P.P. (Agence de Protection des Programmes). These industrial processes standardise the Art Market (artist ID, work ID, catalogue raisonné ID, bibliography ID, estimate/econometric info ID.) with more than 180 million data entries and proprietary indices.
This globally unique knowledge is clearly explained in Artprice’s corporate video in five languages: http://web.artprice.com/video/
Artprice posted the best French stock market progression in 2011 and has filed a request for admission to compartment B of Euronext Paris.
Despite the crisis affecting stock market’s, Artprice’s share price outperformed in 2011 with an astonishing increase of +472% since 1 January 2011 , on the back of a traded volume of approximately 873 million euros , i.e. an average daily volume of 3.2 million euros . This increase was the best performance on the regulated French Eurolist by Euronext markets (compartments A, B, C).
As Artprice satisfied all the admission criteria for admission to Compartment B in 2011, it is preparing its admission request for registration on compartment B of Eurolist to be filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) along with the presentation of its candidacy to the NYSE Euronext Scientific Committee for Indices to be included in the indices relating to Compartment B.
In order to understand the legislative evolution of the art market over five centuries and the impact of recent changes on Artprice, we invite our shareholders and the market to read the 72 short and pedagogical questions and answers that form the basis of the interviews conducted in June and October of 2011. Hyperlinks to Actusnews (a professional regulated information provider licensed by the AMF):
http://www.actusnews.com/communique.php?ID=ACTUS-0-25689
Lastly, Artprice invites its new and future shareholders who would like to acquaint themselves with the history of the Company to consult its highly detailed regulated information in its 2010 Registration Document filed and online at the AMF under D.11-0784 since 25 August 2011 . Artprice, with more than 12 years of regulated disclosure on Eurolist, is proud of the high quality of the information it provides to financial market professionals and art market novices. All the questions of Artprice’s 18,000 shareholders are systematically answered in Artprice’s regulated disclosures that its posts online on its own website and on that of its AMF-authorised financial information provider, ActusNews.com.
Source: http://www.artprice.com (c)1987-2012 thierry Ehrmann
Artprice is the global leader in databank on Art prices and indices with more than 27 million indices and auction results covering 450,000 Artists. Artprice Images(R) gives unlimited access to the largest Art Market resource in the world, a library of 108 million images or engravings of artworks from 1700 to the present day along with comments by Artprice’s art historians. Artprice permanently enriches its databanks with information from 3,600 auctioneers and publishes a constant flow of art market trends for the main news agencies and 6,300 international written media. For its 1.3 million members (member log in), Artprice posts standardized adverts in what is today the world’s leading Standardised Marketplace® for buying and selling works of Art (source Artprice).
Artprice is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris: Euroclear: 7478 – Bloomberg : PRC – Reuters: ARTF
List of Artprice press releases:
http://serveur.serveur.com/press_release/pressreleasefr.htm
Discover alchemy and Artprice’s universe on http://web.artprice.com/video/
Follow all of the art market’s news with Artprice on Twitter: http://twitter.com/artpricedotcom/
Contact: Josette Mey – tel: +33(0)478-220-000, email: ir@artprice.com
http://tourism9.com/
As announced in previous press releases, Artprice, with its 1.3 million members in more than 90 countries, and in its capacity as an online auction broker (“opérateur de courtage aux enchères réalisées à distance par voie électronique”, Article 5 of French Law no. 2011-850 of 20 July 2011 ) will be launching its online auctions service on 18 January 2012 .
Since 27 December 2011 , Artprice members have been able to prepare their ads in order to gain the maximum benefit from the visibility of Artprice’s global launch campaign. For further information please visit: http://web.artprice.com/classifieds/info?l=en
Although more than 90% of the art market was closed between Christmas and the New Year, Artprice has already registered several thousand lots for sale. Our initial client feedback suggests that users find the service very quick and simple to use.
According to thierry Ehrmann, the founder and CEO of Artprice, “the train of History is now definitively rolling and Artprice is on that train, which nothing can stop from now on. It took twelve years and lots of patience and conviction to pursue a legal battle against a 500 year-old monopoly that is today demolished”. Breaking this monopoly is a victory for Artprice; but it is also beneficial to France that has been losing its attractiveness as an art market for over 40 years, slipping from the first to the fourth position, and which, this year, with the help of Artprice, can hope to recover a position worthy of its tradition and its influence on the art market.
On Monday 2 January 2012 , Artprice launched a global campaign in art and financial media, focused on the USA , Europe and Asia , alongside a “viral marketing” campaign on the Internet.
On Monday 9 January 2012 , Artprice will start the presentation of lots to be auctioned in chronological harmony with the art market which, every year, kicks off in the second week of January.
A level of security rarely attained on the Internet.
Our alliance with Escrow.com, the global leader in the management of escrow accounts, provides a 100% guarantee of security and payment for the parties to all transactions. The service provided by Escrow.com has been specifically tailored to meet all of Artprice’s rigorous requirements. Artprice’s capacity to offer 100% transaction security relies on its excellent knowledge of the digital economy and developments in the fields of information technology and Internet law. Indeed, we can affirm with complete confidence that the security of Artprice’s online auctions and other services is greater than that offered by traditional auctions and non-internet transactions.
Artprice works on the fundamental principle of perfectly identified members and, via an agreement with INTERPOL, buyers can access at any moment the latter’s international Stolen Works of Art database to check if a work being offered for sale is subject to any legal dispute or search warrant.
Unlike certain well-known general online auction companies, Artprice imposes a permanent legal presence on its clientele to ensure the smooth operation of its online auction brokerage activities via its Standardised Marketplace. Artprice’s contacts over the past 5 years with approximately 70 criminal investigation departments around the world has allowed Artprice to build an unrivalled level of Internet confidence that is strengthened by its constant collaboration with artists, beneficiaries and experts.
The real strength of Artprice is its use of an escrow and payment release system for which Artprice has conceptualised all possible legal scenarios to ensure that completed transactions are legally irreversible and to provide a level of security rarely attained in the Internet sphere. This escrow system functions on exactly the same principle as that used by solicitors and lawyers for various kinds of transactions.
The very low commissions charged by Artprice completely alter the dynamic of the art market.
Art professionals, collectors and beneficiaries will be inexorably drawn to use Artprice’s service because its low commissions modify the fundamental reality of the secondary art market. Its rates decrease from 9% to 5% depending on the value (in USD) of the transaction: 9% from 0 to 7,500 dollars ; 7% from 7,500.01 to 15,000 dollars and 5% for transactions over 15,000.01 dollars . According to thierry Ehrmann, the 5% rate for works offered at over 15,000.01 euros could attract entire sections of the Art market to this modus operandi because works in that price bracket are perfectly standardised and have been bought and sold for nearly 30 years, almost always “remotely”, in view of the legal documents that vendors are obliged to produce on Artprice.
In parallel, Artprice is setting up white labels for major players in the art market, notably Auction Houses, that will use Artprice and its Standardised Marketplace as their technical host for online auctions, thereby providing Artprice -which is not an auctioneer- with another source of income.
Artprice is therefore open to demand from over 3,600 client and partner auctioneers and more than 7,400 art valuers who have already concretely manifested their vital need to join Artprice’s standardised marketplace in order to maintain their positions in the global art market and survive the necessary transition to a dematerialised art auction environment.
Internet, and more generally the digital revolution, has literally destroyed the global mono-economy of physical auction rooms, which today are just one channel for auctioneers to use and which -usually located in city centres- either represent an expensive (and now superfluous) rental cost or an under-exploited real estate asset.
In the context of a deeper than ever global economic and financial crisis, Artprice has once again -as in 2008- observed a very sharp increase in the number of works offered for sale through its Standardised Marketplace, with an acceleration of buy-to-sell operations. We can therefore assume that auction sales will follow the same growth path. Indeed, we are of the view that the economic and financial crisis represents a strong growth opportunity for Artprice’s Standardised Marketplace.
In fact, the history of the art market – like all markets – is naturally heading towards the circuits that are the fastest, the least expensive, the most liquid, where the price can be obtained in real-time and where there is a critical mass of participants with – of course – access to transparent information on all prices and indices.
Artprice’s Standardised Marketplace meets these five specific and vital needs for a modern market. Artprice, with its completely toll-free access model for its Standardised Marketplace, is absorbing the global market of private art sales faster than initially expected. With our extremely attractive rates we now expect to see the same pace of growth with our online auction service.
Over nearly 7 years Artprice has seen exponential growth of the offer on its Standardised Marketplace (the annual figures are available in Artprice’s 2010 Registration Document and online at the AMF under number D.11-0784 since 25 August 2011 ). In 2010, Artprice confirmed a total volume of artworks offered worth nearly 6.3 billion euros with a sales rate of approximately one third, for which Artprice received no commission.
We should point out that only Artprice holds and protects, as intellectual property, the entire process for joining the Standardised Marketplace® and for side-stepping the traditional system of physical auction rooms. Indeed, the situation may justifiably be compared to the old Stock Exchanges before the arrival of the ECNs (Electronic Communication Network) that made the outcry halls redundant on the majority of the world’s major stock markets, primarily by reducing the intermediation costs.
Art… a veritable safe haven investment in times of major crisis.
The economic and business media (Le Monde, The New York Times , the F.T. the A.F.P., Reuters, Bloomberg, etc.) regularly indicate that quality art represents a genuine safe haven in major crises. Artprice, Christie’s, Sotheby’s and the major international auctioneers also confirm the safe haven status of artworks (c.f. the Agefi’s interview with Artprice). In fact, despite the sombre economic and financial global context in 2011, the global art market posted extremely positive figures both in terms of volumes and prices in all countries, and numerous artists in Artprice’s global Top 500 posted new records.
This confidence is manifest on all continents. Like gold, artworks have for centuries been defensive investments in major crises and particularly in the context of sharp meltdowns in financial asset values such as those that the global economy is likely to continue experiencing in 2012/2013.
Artprice will soon be announcing alliances that will allow a presence on all continents with local partners.
The future of Artprice in 2012 and of the Art Market is unavoidably linked to Asia .
Artprice was the first press agent in the world to announce and certify figures in 2011 showing that China had unquestionably become the world’s leading art marketplace ahead of the USA in 2011. Artprice’s figures for 2011 have already confirmed China’s domination of the global art market for the second consecutive year.
There is therefore an irresistible logic to Artprice’s patient preparation for the opening of its subsidiary and clean rooms in Hong Kong that will be a testing ground for the People’s Republic of China and an entry point for Asia . Hong Kong is already one of the top five global art marketplaces. Likewise, agreements with major players such as online auction operators and major Asian art fairs will allow Artprice to extend the diffusion initiated in 2011 of its Asia -specific art market reports, country by country. As a simple example, Singapore should soon overtake France in the field of Contemporary Art sales. In this context Artprice and Art Stage Singapore, Asia’s largest Contemporary Art Fair (along with Art HK), have decided to intensify their editorial partnership and their marketing strategy in 2012. Artprice will also be a strategic partner with Art HK ( Hong Kong ).
The Internet’s absolute domination of the art market in 2012.
In 2012 Internet is therefore just a simple extension of the 1980s telephonic order with, in addition, a perfect reproduction of the work for the buyer and Artprice’s remarkable success is proof of this…. there remained therefore a final step and indeed the hardest step: the standardisation of the marketplace that Artprice has achieved in 14 years by imposing its unique and free standard via its Standardised Marketplace ®.
From 1987 to 2004, Artprice’s databanks became the reference in this area and made Artprice the global leader in standardised art market information before it turned to the problem of market dematerialisation. This latter project fully exploits the standardisation represented by its 18 databases, fed by acquisitions around the world of publishers and art archives.
All of the industrial processes forming Artprice’s databanks are patent protected, notably by the A.P.P. (Agence de Protection des Programmes). These industrial processes standardise the Art Market (artist ID, work ID, catalogue raisonné ID, bibliography ID, estimate/econometric info ID.) with more than 180 million data entries and proprietary indices.
This globally unique knowledge is clearly explained in Artprice’s corporate video in five languages: http://web.artprice.com/video/
Artprice posted the best French stock market progression in 2011 and has filed a request for admission to compartment B of Euronext Paris.
Despite the crisis affecting stock market’s, Artprice’s share price outperformed in 2011 with an astonishing increase of +472% since 1 January 2011 , on the back of a traded volume of approximately 873 million euros , i.e. an average daily volume of 3.2 million euros . This increase was the best performance on the regulated French Eurolist by Euronext markets (compartments A, B, C).
As Artprice satisfied all the admission criteria for admission to Compartment B in 2011, it is preparing its admission request for registration on compartment B of Eurolist to be filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) along with the presentation of its candidacy to the NYSE Euronext Scientific Committee for Indices to be included in the indices relating to Compartment B.
In order to understand the legislative evolution of the art market over five centuries and the impact of recent changes on Artprice, we invite our shareholders and the market to read the 72 short and pedagogical questions and answers that form the basis of the interviews conducted in June and October of 2011. Hyperlinks to Actusnews (a professional regulated information provider licensed by the AMF):
http://www.actusnews.com/communique.php?ID=ACTUS-0-25689
Lastly, Artprice invites its new and future shareholders who would like to acquaint themselves with the history of the Company to consult its highly detailed regulated information in its 2010 Registration Document filed and online at the AMF under D.11-0784 since 25 August 2011 . Artprice, with more than 12 years of regulated disclosure on Eurolist, is proud of the high quality of the information it provides to financial market professionals and art market novices. All the questions of Artprice’s 18,000 shareholders are systematically answered in Artprice’s regulated disclosures that its posts online on its own website and on that of its AMF-authorised financial information provider, ActusNews.com.
Source: http://www.artprice.com (c)1987-2012 thierry Ehrmann
Artprice is the global leader in databank on Art prices and indices with more than 27 million indices and auction results covering 450,000 Artists. Artprice Images(R) gives unlimited access to the largest Art Market resource in the world, a library of 108 million images or engravings of artworks from 1700 to the present day along with comments by Artprice’s art historians. Artprice permanently enriches its databanks with information from 3,600 auctioneers and publishes a constant flow of art market trends for the main news agencies and 6,300 international written media. For its 1.3 million members (member log in), Artprice posts standardized adverts in what is today the world’s leading Standardised Marketplace® for buying and selling works of Art (source Artprice).
Artprice is listed on Eurolist by Euronext Paris: Euroclear: 7478 – Bloomberg : PRC – Reuters: ARTF
List of Artprice press releases:
http://serveur.serveur.com/press_release/pressreleasefr.htm
Discover alchemy and Artprice’s universe on http://web.artprice.com/video/
Follow all of the art market’s news with Artprice on Twitter: http://twitter.com/artpricedotcom/
Contact: Josette Mey – tel: +33(0)478-220-000, email: ir@artprice.com
http://tourism9.com/
Travel smarter this year
Electronic communication, such as disposable mobile phones, cheap and easy Wi-Fi, and social networking, is revolutionizing the way we communicate when we travel. But the digital development I am most enthused about is the smartphone. My iPhone has quickly become my favourite travel companion, whether it’s keeping me on top of my work, keeping me in touch with my kids, or simply keeping me entertained.
I’m not alone. It was predicted that by the end of 2011, 40% of all Canadian mobile phone users will have a smartphone –iPhone, Android, Windows or BlackBerry — compared to just 10% in 2008. And as smartphones get more capable, they are becoming essential tools for travellers.
For instance, if I’m in a cafe in Paris that has free Wi-Fi, I can pop onto the Internet and check sports scores back home. If an impromptu soccer game breaks out on a piazza in Naples, I can record a video of it, then use the Dropbox application to send it to my assistant, who can post it to my Facebook page. Using Skype on my phone, I can connect to Wi-Fi and call my daughter in the U.S. for free.
About the only thing I don’t do with my smartphone when travelling is use it as an actual cellphone. When roaming in Europe with a North American phone, calls are expensive (often $1.50 per minute or higher). To save money, I use a phone I bought years ago in Europe and buy a new SIM card in each country I visit (a SIM card is a removable chip that stores your information).
A phone must be “unlocked” to swap out SIM cards (but be aware smartphones can be complicated to unlock). I make a lot of calls when I’m in Europe, but if you don’t, you might find it easier to roam with your own phone.
With smartphones, it’s important to watch dataroaming charges. A three-minute video from YouTube can cost about $40. While casual browsing and e-mailing costs less (around 20¢ to send or receive a basic message), charges can pile up quickly.
To avoid these costs, it’s easiest to cut off this feature by calling your carrier to disable it and turning off data roaming using your phone’s menu (before you get on your transatlantic flight). You can still use the Internet, but you’ll have to wait until you reach a Wi-Fi hotspot. Otherwise, for better rates, talk to your carrier about international dataroaming plans.
Even if you don’t use your smartphone for calls or data roaming, it can still come in handy thanks to the many travel-oriented applications that are available. Although I still prefer flipping through a paper guidebook, many publishers also offer travel guides in e-book format.
Apps for TripAdvisor and Yelp give you access to millions of user reviews of restaurants, hotels, and sights. And my Rick Steves Audio Europe app has radio interviews and audio walking tours of Europe’s top sights, such as the Acropolis and Versailles.
If you need to search for flights, hotels or rental cars, try Orbitz, Priceline, Booking.com,Expedia’s TripAssist and Travelocity. Skyscanner searches a variety of European budget airlines to find the cheapest connection.
TripIt is a clever app that stores all of your trip details in one place. Note that many apps (such as e-books) work on their own once you download them, but others (such as flight-search apps) need to access content online. You’ll either have to find a Wi-Fi hotspot or spring for data roaming to make them work.
To figure out train schedules, DB Navigator, German Rail’s comprehensive train timetables, includes connections for all of continental Europe. For the U.K., try thetrainline. Big cities, such as London and Paris, offer subway apps that save you from having to unfold an unwieldy map on a crowded platform.
If you don’t parlez-vous the local language, download Google Translate, which lets you type or speak foreign words for a translation. You can also say or type a sentence in English to hear a translation or see it written out. With Lonely Planet’s audio phrase-books, simply press a button to hear the phrase you’re struggling to pronounce.
Other useful travel apps include Measures, which converts various European units (such as clothing sizes and currency) to North American ones; the Weather Channel and AccuWeather, which help you figure out how to dress for the day; and mPassport, city-specific apps that direct you to English-speaking doctors and hospitals, as well as local names for prescription medications.
As more people travel with smartphones, I expect that more creative apps will become available. I am something of a tech holdout but if technology can make travel smoother and smarter, I’m all for it.
Rick Steves (ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com, or write to him c/o P.O. Box 2009, Edmonds, WA 98020.
http://tourism9.com/
I’m not alone. It was predicted that by the end of 2011, 40% of all Canadian mobile phone users will have a smartphone –iPhone, Android, Windows or BlackBerry — compared to just 10% in 2008. And as smartphones get more capable, they are becoming essential tools for travellers.
For instance, if I’m in a cafe in Paris that has free Wi-Fi, I can pop onto the Internet and check sports scores back home. If an impromptu soccer game breaks out on a piazza in Naples, I can record a video of it, then use the Dropbox application to send it to my assistant, who can post it to my Facebook page. Using Skype on my phone, I can connect to Wi-Fi and call my daughter in the U.S. for free.
About the only thing I don’t do with my smartphone when travelling is use it as an actual cellphone. When roaming in Europe with a North American phone, calls are expensive (often $1.50 per minute or higher). To save money, I use a phone I bought years ago in Europe and buy a new SIM card in each country I visit (a SIM card is a removable chip that stores your information).
A phone must be “unlocked” to swap out SIM cards (but be aware smartphones can be complicated to unlock). I make a lot of calls when I’m in Europe, but if you don’t, you might find it easier to roam with your own phone.
With smartphones, it’s important to watch dataroaming charges. A three-minute video from YouTube can cost about $40. While casual browsing and e-mailing costs less (around 20¢ to send or receive a basic message), charges can pile up quickly.
To avoid these costs, it’s easiest to cut off this feature by calling your carrier to disable it and turning off data roaming using your phone’s menu (before you get on your transatlantic flight). You can still use the Internet, but you’ll have to wait until you reach a Wi-Fi hotspot. Otherwise, for better rates, talk to your carrier about international dataroaming plans.
Even if you don’t use your smartphone for calls or data roaming, it can still come in handy thanks to the many travel-oriented applications that are available. Although I still prefer flipping through a paper guidebook, many publishers also offer travel guides in e-book format.
Apps for TripAdvisor and Yelp give you access to millions of user reviews of restaurants, hotels, and sights. And my Rick Steves Audio Europe app has radio interviews and audio walking tours of Europe’s top sights, such as the Acropolis and Versailles.
If you need to search for flights, hotels or rental cars, try Orbitz, Priceline, Booking.com,Expedia’s TripAssist and Travelocity. Skyscanner searches a variety of European budget airlines to find the cheapest connection.
TripIt is a clever app that stores all of your trip details in one place. Note that many apps (such as e-books) work on their own once you download them, but others (such as flight-search apps) need to access content online. You’ll either have to find a Wi-Fi hotspot or spring for data roaming to make them work.
To figure out train schedules, DB Navigator, German Rail’s comprehensive train timetables, includes connections for all of continental Europe. For the U.K., try thetrainline. Big cities, such as London and Paris, offer subway apps that save you from having to unfold an unwieldy map on a crowded platform.
If you don’t parlez-vous the local language, download Google Translate, which lets you type or speak foreign words for a translation. You can also say or type a sentence in English to hear a translation or see it written out. With Lonely Planet’s audio phrase-books, simply press a button to hear the phrase you’re struggling to pronounce.
Other useful travel apps include Measures, which converts various European units (such as clothing sizes and currency) to North American ones; the Weather Channel and AccuWeather, which help you figure out how to dress for the day; and mPassport, city-specific apps that direct you to English-speaking doctors and hospitals, as well as local names for prescription medications.
As more people travel with smartphones, I expect that more creative apps will become available. I am something of a tech holdout but if technology can make travel smoother and smarter, I’m all for it.
Rick Steves (ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email him at rick@ricksteves.com, or write to him c/o P.O. Box 2009, Edmonds, WA 98020.
http://tourism9.com/
2012年1月2日星期一
BIA Digital Leads $13.5M Investment in Cooking.com
More Topics:
Posted December 6, 2011
Tracy Randall, co-founder and CEO of Cooking.com commented, “We have been rigorously focused on leveraging our position as the category-leader in the specialty food and kitchenware segment to bring scalable, low-to-no-risk ecommerce solutions to our channel partners. The investment from BIA Digital Partners allows us to continue to scale and grow our portfolio of partner sites while providing an excellent consumer experience.” Randall further said, “BIA Digital Partners was quick to understand our strategy, and with a deep understanding of the media and enthusiast content segment, was able to offer helpful insights during the due diligence process. Their financing solution was unique and unlike any other option the Company considered.”
Mike Kwatinetz, General Partner at Azure Capital Partners said, “We are very pleased to welcome BIA DP as a new investor. We have already seen their ability to add strategic value as Cooking.com executes on its plan to become a significant player in online commerce, by creating branded stores relevant to buyers of cooking products.”
“Cooking.com merges two of our investment focus areas, quality content and technology-enabled services,” stated BIA DP’s Scott Chappell. “Our investment will support Tracy and her team at Cooking.com to further cement and grow its connections with consumer enthusiasts and enterprise partners.”
“BIA Digital Partners is focused on investing in category leaders. For more than 10 years, Cooking.com has built its reputation on being a content and product-rich ecommerce destination for those seeking high quality kitchenwares and specialty foods. The ‘Powered By Cooking.com’ network is a testament to the Company’s reputation in the marketplace, as they currently power many of the most respected brands in the industry,” said BIA DP’s Dovi. “We are delighted to add Cooking.com, Inc. to our investment portfolio.”
About BIA Digital Partners
BIA Digital Partners is a private investment firm, managing approximately $280 million. Financing is available for acquisitions, organic growth, recapitalizations and leveraged/management buyouts among other purposes. BIA Digital Partners maintains a focus on expansion-stage companies operating in the media, telecommunications, consumer internet and technology-enabled business and consumer services segments. Investments range from $5 to $20 million and larger with co-investors and are typically in the form of subordinated debt with warrants or preferred equity. For more information, visit www.biadp.com.
About Cooking.com
Cooking.com is transforming online shopping in the food and cooking space by going to customers and building innovative, entertaining shopping experiences with trusted brands. Cooking.com operates several uniquely branded websites including: Rachael Ray Store, Paula Deen Store, Calphalon Store, Betty Crocker Store, Pillsbury Store, Steamy Kitchen Store, Good Bite Store, and Marley Coffee. ‘Powered By Cooking.com’ delivers high touch, branded e-commerce solutions and category expertise, enabling partners to attract consumers, drive membership and build new revenue opportunities.
Cooking.com offers its customers access to over 60,000 products for the kitchen as well as recipes, menus, collections and a growing library of member-submitted cooking content. The company is committed to providing its customers with an exceptional experience and is the recipient of numerous awards for customer satisfaction. Cooking.com was founded in 1998 and is based in Marina del Rey, Calif.
About Azure Capital Partners
Azure is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm with over $650 million under management. The firm invests in early stage technology companies that are at the forefront of a transformative opportunity for growth. Azure has invested in and served as trusted advisors to some of the most successful and important technology companies created in the last decade including VMWare (NYSE: VMW), Bill Me Later (acquired by eBay), Calix (NYSE: CALX), Top Tier (acquired by SAP) and World Wide Packets (acquired by Ciena). The Azure team is recognized for industry thought leadership, a broad network of powerful industry relationships and a unique professional investment approach to venture investing. For more information, visit www.azurecap.com.
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Posted December 6, 2011
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Chantilly, Va – BIA Digital Partners II LP, a private investment firm focusing on growth companies, announced it has led a $13,500,000 growth capital financing for Marina del Ray, Calif.-based Cooking.com, Inc. The financing consisted of subordinated debt and a new round of preferred equity. Azure Capital Partners, the Company’s lead equity investor, provided a significant participation in the financing. Proceeds from the investment will be used to further the growth of the Company’s flagship site www.cooking.com and to accelerate the build-out of the Company’s “Powered By Cooking.com” enterprise-level ecommerce solution. In conjunction with the financing, Damien Dovi, Partner at BIA DP, has joined the Company’s board of directors as an observer.Tracy Randall, co-founder and CEO of Cooking.com commented, “We have been rigorously focused on leveraging our position as the category-leader in the specialty food and kitchenware segment to bring scalable, low-to-no-risk ecommerce solutions to our channel partners. The investment from BIA Digital Partners allows us to continue to scale and grow our portfolio of partner sites while providing an excellent consumer experience.” Randall further said, “BIA Digital Partners was quick to understand our strategy, and with a deep understanding of the media and enthusiast content segment, was able to offer helpful insights during the due diligence process. Their financing solution was unique and unlike any other option the Company considered.”
Mike Kwatinetz, General Partner at Azure Capital Partners said, “We are very pleased to welcome BIA DP as a new investor. We have already seen their ability to add strategic value as Cooking.com executes on its plan to become a significant player in online commerce, by creating branded stores relevant to buyers of cooking products.”
“Cooking.com merges two of our investment focus areas, quality content and technology-enabled services,” stated BIA DP’s Scott Chappell. “Our investment will support Tracy and her team at Cooking.com to further cement and grow its connections with consumer enthusiasts and enterprise partners.”
“BIA Digital Partners is focused on investing in category leaders. For more than 10 years, Cooking.com has built its reputation on being a content and product-rich ecommerce destination for those seeking high quality kitchenwares and specialty foods. The ‘Powered By Cooking.com’ network is a testament to the Company’s reputation in the marketplace, as they currently power many of the most respected brands in the industry,” said BIA DP’s Dovi. “We are delighted to add Cooking.com, Inc. to our investment portfolio.”
About BIA Digital Partners
BIA Digital Partners is a private investment firm, managing approximately $280 million. Financing is available for acquisitions, organic growth, recapitalizations and leveraged/management buyouts among other purposes. BIA Digital Partners maintains a focus on expansion-stage companies operating in the media, telecommunications, consumer internet and technology-enabled business and consumer services segments. Investments range from $5 to $20 million and larger with co-investors and are typically in the form of subordinated debt with warrants or preferred equity. For more information, visit www.biadp.com.
About Cooking.com
Cooking.com is transforming online shopping in the food and cooking space by going to customers and building innovative, entertaining shopping experiences with trusted brands. Cooking.com operates several uniquely branded websites including: Rachael Ray Store, Paula Deen Store, Calphalon Store, Betty Crocker Store, Pillsbury Store, Steamy Kitchen Store, Good Bite Store, and Marley Coffee. ‘Powered By Cooking.com’ delivers high touch, branded e-commerce solutions and category expertise, enabling partners to attract consumers, drive membership and build new revenue opportunities.
Cooking.com offers its customers access to over 60,000 products for the kitchen as well as recipes, menus, collections and a growing library of member-submitted cooking content. The company is committed to providing its customers with an exceptional experience and is the recipient of numerous awards for customer satisfaction. Cooking.com was founded in 1998 and is based in Marina del Rey, Calif.
About Azure Capital Partners
Azure is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm with over $650 million under management. The firm invests in early stage technology companies that are at the forefront of a transformative opportunity for growth. Azure has invested in and served as trusted advisors to some of the most successful and important technology companies created in the last decade including VMWare (NYSE: VMW), Bill Me Later (acquired by eBay), Calix (NYSE: CALX), Top Tier (acquired by SAP) and World Wide Packets (acquired by Ciena). The Azure team is recognized for industry thought leadership, a broad network of powerful industry relationships and a unique professional investment approach to venture investing. For more information, visit www.azurecap.com.
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BIA Digital Partners Makes Growth Capital Investment in Cooking.com, Inc.
CHANTILLY, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BIA Digital Partners II LP (“BIA DP”), a private investment firm focusing on expansion stage companies, announced it has led a $13,500,000 growth capital financing for Marina del Ray, Calif.-based Cooking.com, Inc. (the “Company”). The financing consisted of subordinated debt and a new round of preferred equity. Azure Capital Partners, the Company’s lead equity investor, provided a significant participation in the financing. Proceeds from the investment will be used to further the growth of the Company’s flagship site www.cooking.com and to accelerate the build-out of the Company’s “Powered By Cooking.com” enterprise-level ecommerce solution. In conjunction with the financing, Damien Dovi, Partner at BIA DP, has joined the Company’s board of directors as an observer.
Mike Kwatinetz, General Partner at Azure Capital Partners said, “We are very pleased to welcome BIA DP as a new investor. We have already seen their ability to add strategic value as Cooking.com executes on its plan to become a significant player in online commerce, by creating branded stores relevant to buyers of cooking products.”
“Cooking.com merges two of our investment focus areas, quality content and technology-enabled services,” stated BIA DP’s Scott Chappell. “Our investment will support Tracy and her team at Cooking.com to further cement and grow its connections with consumer enthusiasts and enterprise partners.”
“BIA Digital Partners is focused on investing in category leaders. For more than 10 years, Cooking.com has built its reputation on being a content and product-rich ecommerce destination for those seeking high quality kitchenwares and specialty foods. The ‘Powered By Cooking.com’ network is a testament to the Company’s reputation in the marketplace, as they currently power many of the most respected brands in the industry,” said BIA DP’s Dovi. “We are delighted to add Cooking.com, Inc. to our investment portfolio.”
About BIA Digital Partners
BIA Digital Partners is a private investment firm, managing approximately $280 million. Financing is available for acquisitions, organic growth, recapitalizations and leveraged/management buyouts among other purposes. BIA Digital Partners maintains a focus on expansion-stage companies operating in the media, telecommunications, consumer Internet and technology-enabled business and consumer services segments. Investments range from $5 to $18 million and are typically in the form of subordinated debt with warrants or preferred equity. For more information, visit www.biadp.com.
About Cooking.com
Cooking.com is transforming online shopping in the food and cooking space by going to customers and building innovative, entertaining shopping experiences with trusted brands. Cooking.com operates several uniquely branded websites including: Rachael Ray Store, Paula Deen Store, Calphalon Store, Betty Crocker Store, Pillsbury Store, Steamy Kitchen Store, Good Bite Store, and Marley Coffee. ‘Powered By Cooking.com’ delivers high touch, branded e-commerce solutions and category expertise, enabling partners to attract consumers, drive membership and build new revenue opportunities.
Cooking.com offers its customers access to over 60,000 products for the kitchen as well as recipes, menus, collections and a growing library of member-submitted cooking content. The company is committed to providing its customers with an exceptional experience and is the recipient of numerous awards for customer satisfaction. Cooking.com was founded in 1998 and is based in Marina del Rey, Calif.
About Azure Capital Partners
Azure is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm with over $650 million under management. The firm invests in early stage technology companies that are at the forefront of a transformative opportunity for growth. Azure has invested in and served as trusted advisors to some of the most successful and important technology companies created in the last decade including VMWare (NYSE: VMW), Bill Me Later (acquired by eBay), Calix (NYSE: CALX), Top Tier (acquired by SAP) and World Wide Packets (acquired by Ciena). The Azure team is recognized for industry thought leadership, a broad network of powerful industry relationships and a unique professional investment approach to venture investing. For more information, visit http://www.azurecap.com/.
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“Our investment will support Tracy and her team at Cooking.com to further cement and grow its connections with consumer enthusiasts and enterprise partners.”Tracy Randall, co-founder and CEO of Cooking.com commented, “We have been rigorously focused on leveraging our position as the category-leader in the specialty food and kitchenware segment to bring scalable, low-to-no-risk ecommerce solutions to our channel partners. The investment from BIA Digital Partners allows us to continue to scale and grow our portfolio of partner sites while providing an excellent consumer experience.” Randall further said, “BIA Digital Partners was quick to understand our strategy, and with a deep understanding of the media and enthusiast content segment, was able to offer helpful insights during the due diligence process. Their financing solution was unique and unlike any other option the Company considered.”
Mike Kwatinetz, General Partner at Azure Capital Partners said, “We are very pleased to welcome BIA DP as a new investor. We have already seen their ability to add strategic value as Cooking.com executes on its plan to become a significant player in online commerce, by creating branded stores relevant to buyers of cooking products.”
“Cooking.com merges two of our investment focus areas, quality content and technology-enabled services,” stated BIA DP’s Scott Chappell. “Our investment will support Tracy and her team at Cooking.com to further cement and grow its connections with consumer enthusiasts and enterprise partners.”
“BIA Digital Partners is focused on investing in category leaders. For more than 10 years, Cooking.com has built its reputation on being a content and product-rich ecommerce destination for those seeking high quality kitchenwares and specialty foods. The ‘Powered By Cooking.com’ network is a testament to the Company’s reputation in the marketplace, as they currently power many of the most respected brands in the industry,” said BIA DP’s Dovi. “We are delighted to add Cooking.com, Inc. to our investment portfolio.”
About BIA Digital Partners
BIA Digital Partners is a private investment firm, managing approximately $280 million. Financing is available for acquisitions, organic growth, recapitalizations and leveraged/management buyouts among other purposes. BIA Digital Partners maintains a focus on expansion-stage companies operating in the media, telecommunications, consumer Internet and technology-enabled business and consumer services segments. Investments range from $5 to $18 million and are typically in the form of subordinated debt with warrants or preferred equity. For more information, visit www.biadp.com.
About Cooking.com
Cooking.com is transforming online shopping in the food and cooking space by going to customers and building innovative, entertaining shopping experiences with trusted brands. Cooking.com operates several uniquely branded websites including: Rachael Ray Store, Paula Deen Store, Calphalon Store, Betty Crocker Store, Pillsbury Store, Steamy Kitchen Store, Good Bite Store, and Marley Coffee. ‘Powered By Cooking.com’ delivers high touch, branded e-commerce solutions and category expertise, enabling partners to attract consumers, drive membership and build new revenue opportunities.
Cooking.com offers its customers access to over 60,000 products for the kitchen as well as recipes, menus, collections and a growing library of member-submitted cooking content. The company is committed to providing its customers with an exceptional experience and is the recipient of numerous awards for customer satisfaction. Cooking.com was founded in 1998 and is based in Marina del Rey, Calif.
About Azure Capital Partners
Azure is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm with over $650 million under management. The firm invests in early stage technology companies that are at the forefront of a transformative opportunity for growth. Azure has invested in and served as trusted advisors to some of the most successful and important technology companies created in the last decade including VMWare (NYSE: VMW), Bill Me Later (acquired by eBay), Calix (NYSE: CALX), Top Tier (acquired by SAP) and World Wide Packets (acquired by Ciena). The Azure team is recognized for industry thought leadership, a broad network of powerful industry relationships and a unique professional investment approach to venture investing. For more information, visit http://www.azurecap.com/.
http://tourism9.com/
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