Will the Dell's Duo be Dynamic or Disastrous?

Last week Dell released a short teaser video for their upcoming Dell Inspiron Duo tablet, which should hit the market by the end of the year.

Obviously, Dell faces the same challenge that every tablet has faced since the iPad was launched. They are trying to not only separate themselves from Apple's hugely popular tablet, but from the sea of other tablet that have dominated technology headlines in recent months.

And what is Dell bringing to the table?

For starters, the Inspiron Duo sports a full QWERTY keyboard in addition to the standard tablet touchscreen. And to get to that keyboard, the Inspiron Duo has a really cool flip lid that turns the touchscreen 180 degress. So what you end up with is a combination tablet/netbook.  It's hard to explain, so I recommend checking out the video for yourself.

The number one question facing technology developers today concerns multifunctional capabilities like this. Do people want a device that does a little bit of everything, or a device that does one thing really well?

The prime example is the tablet vs. e-reader debate. Many feared that the iPad would kill off the Kindle because it could do a lot more in addition to functioning as an e-reader. However, despite a very successful tablet release by Apple, the Kindle is still going strong as well.

Given the success of both product categories, I think that, assuming the Inspiron Duo performs well as both a tablet and netbook, it has a real chance to gain ground in this very competitive tablet market.

All's Fair in Love and Facebook

Nearly 9 out of 10 web users have searched for password hacking methods online, according to a recent BitDefender survey. I'll let that sink in for a moment, but here's why we all need to take notice of statistics like this.

Let's face it, nothing ruins your day faster than having your online privacy breached. Here at Axiom, we've had our Twitter profile hacked, and I personally have had my credit card information stolen. Neither situation was fun to deal with, and both required an overhaul to how I/we set up passwords.

But before you start hyperventilating over the thought of millions of hackers trying to steal your online identity, we need to look at why so many people are apparently interested in password hacking. The answer seems to center on love and relationships.

The survey found that 72% of respondents had wanted to read their significant other’s personal messages. And if you think that ending the relationship would solve your privacy issue, you'd be wrong, because 64% of potential password stealers had thought about exacting some online revenge by changing passwords or information in their ex-boy/girlfriend’s social network account.

So with all of us moving more and more facets of our lives online, the risk of being hacked is obviously going to go up. However, your biggest threat probably isn't some professional hacker with the latest code-breaking program, but the people you already love and trust. I guess Nietzsche had it right when he said, "there is always some madness in love."

Axiom Staffer to Speak at Blog Conference this Weekend

Online video has seen an exponential boom among web surfers since the early 2000's. According to comScore reports, more than 34-billion videos populate the internet, with more than 183-million users consuming that video. With all that video floating around, how are we ensuring that quality content is being created?

Axiom's Creative Director, Dave Sniadak, will be speaking at the I_Blog Conference in Perry, Iowa, Saturday, November 6th to deliver a Vasics of Vlogging seminar. He'll attempt to enlighten bloggers with some tips on how they can not only incorporate video into their blogs, but how to raise the production level a few notches.

Some of the topics Dave will be addressing are the three kinds of vlogs that users generally create, and three key components producers should heed before hitting record for their next vlog. Among other things, Dave will attempt to produce a real-time vlog post with some brave session attendees. Check back early next week for a session recap.

Only 4% Online Adults Use Location-Based Services

The unfortunate side effect of following social media news as closely as many of us do is that we sometimes forget that not everybody uses, understands, or even cares about it to extent that we do.

For instance, looking around the social media news headlines you'd think that location-based services like Foursquare or Gowalla are dominating the social sphere. However, a very surprising report from the Pew Research Center shows that these services have a long way to go before they can be considered mainstream staples.

The title of the report, "4% of online Americans use location-based services," pretty much says it all. The rest of the study dives further into the numbers, but all of the statistics point to the same conclusion that these location-based services aren't being utilized across multiple demographics.

The report breaks down the use of these services by several categories, and if you piece together the highest percentages, the ideal geolocation user is an 18-29 year old (8%) Hispanic (10%) male (6%). But even the highest percentages are lackluster, given that the study covered online adults.

But this low usage rate is by no means a sign that location-based services are doomed to fail, it only means that they are not mainstream as of right now. However, these statistics should be taken into account by companies looking to launch any sort of location-based campaign, because the numbers show that it may have some trouble reaching a large majority of the online population.

Switching Teams: Why Facebook Places Might be Worth a Second Look

Without a doubt, the office favorite here at Axiom is Foursquare. If any of us use Facebook Places, it's rare and infrequent--in opposition to some staffers' obsessions with checking in daily on Foursquare. First Facebook took MySpace, then it took our beloved chatting services MSN & AOL, and now we're about to witness its first real attempt to take down our favorite location-based social network.

So what did Facebook Places do to make us take a closer look? They combined it with our nation's newest obsession: local deals. Simply titled "Deals," the service will provide four different special offers available only through Facebook Places. Individual Deals will offer a single deal just for you, while Friend Deals will allow you and a buddy to be in on the savings. Loyalty Deals will be similar to Foursquare Mayorships for frequent customers, and Charity Deals will allow you to donate to a particular cause.

And of course, in true Facebook fashion, every time you cash in on a deal it pops up on your newsfeed.

What does this all boil down to? Where Foursquare held the monopoly in the location-based marketing arena, they now have a direct deals competitor with a social networking giant. Sure, Facebook doesn't have the bragging rights that can only come from a legit Foursquare Mayorship, but with brands like Chipotle and GAP already signing onto Facebook Deals, there might be reason to switch.