Featured Report: Apple's iOS tops 50% of U.S. smartphone sales, Android slides

Fierce Mobile Content
Jan,08,2013
by:Jason Ankeny
Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS powered 53.3 percent of all smartphones sold in the U.S. during the 12-week-period ending Nov. 25, 2012, up from 35.8 percent in the year-ago period, according to new data published by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. The growth spurt signals the first time the iOS platform has surpassed a 50 percent share of sales in the American market. Among all U.S. consumers who purchased an iPhone in November, 27 percent upgraded from another smartphone operating system, 34 percent upgraded from an earlier iPhone edition and 40 percent acquired their first smartphone. Kantar Worldpanel ComTech noted that 44 percent of Verizon Wireless' (NYSE:VZ) feature phone userbase upgraded to an iPhone during the period, compared to 38 percent of the AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) feature phone segment. At the same time, 51.7 percent of AT&T's existing iOS userbase upgraded to a newer iPhone model, compared to 15 percent of Verizon iOS users who made the change.
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This Week's Wireless News

Fierce Wireless
At CES 2013, innovation isn't coming from smartphone makers Jan,08,2013
by:Mike Dano
LAS VEGAS--The annual Consumer Electronics Show here is typically used by the world's gadget makers to show off their latest and greatest hardware innovations. This is the place you'll see giant TVs, car stereos that could seriously damage your hearing and smartphones that will set the tone for the next 12 months.To be clear, there are a number of new smartphones that have landed. Sony Mobile Communications promises "experiences beyond the ordinary" with its new Xperia Z Android smartphone. Huawei is pushing the limits of smartphone gigantism with its new Ascend Mate, which sports a 6.1-inch screen. And China's TCL hopes to invade the U.S. market with its new line of Alcatel One Touch phones (which are apparently so advanced that one company PR representative needed help unlocking the device's home screen). But these devices offer virtually nothing new to the industry beyond negligible improvements in specifications.
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RCR Wireless U.S.
CES 2013: tablets, smartphones to drive electronic industry sales in 2013
Jan,08,2013
by:Roberta Prescott.
Tablets and smartphones are expected to continue to drive electronic product revenues in 2013 as they did in 2012. According to 2012 provisional global tech device sales revenue released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2013), tablets grew 60% and smartphones rose 38% in 2012. And this trend will continue in 2013 with sales of tablets and smartphones dominating the consumer electronic market and increasing by 25% and 22%, respectively.
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Mobile Marketing Watch
MMW at CES 2013 This Week
Jan,07, 2013
by: jshavit
Expectations ahead of tomorrow’s kick-off to the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show are perhaps best described as bipolar. For some, excitement over the biggest trade show in the United States has reached fever pitch today as vendors large and small prepare to exhibit what could be tomorrow’s most promising technologies. On the other hand, CES 2013 is also seen as a veritable tech version of the Hunger Games. ZDNet’s Jason Perlow, for example, says only a few of the technologies will actually survive and make it to market.
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Small Business Healthcare Consortium

Hello Small Business Owners,
I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do. That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC).

This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority. And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC, I am personally inviting you and asking you to invite your network of small businesses to participate in a one hour, educational free webinar about the Affordable Care Act on January 15th at 11:00am CST or January 16th at 3:30pm CST. Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of this free webinar to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. It will discuss the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Follow this link to register for:
January 15th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq

January 16th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits. Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side. As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage.

The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. Please register:
January 15th, 11am CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq
January 16th, 3:30pm CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

And, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or ideas. Reach me at 312-286-8416 email wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology Healthcare IT Serives at www.wireheadtec.com/Home.html Find a listing of our SBHCC Steering Committee members at: www.cbhconline.org/smallbusiness .

Sincerely,
Howard Lee CIO
Wirehead Technology

If you need answers to your Healthcare IT needs now visit our Healthcare Managed Services page at Wirehead Technology

Featured Report:What Can Your Mobile Strategy Learn From Domino’s Digital Dominance?

Mobile Marketing Watch
Jan,04,2013
by:Michael
If you haven’t been paying attention, perhaps you’ve overlooked that Domino’s is delivering a lot more than just pizza these days. Domino’s growing dominance in all forms of digital and mobile marketing is actually quite impressive. Domino’s has utilized mobile technology and social media to drive foot traffic into its stores for a while now, with success on nearly all fronts. Through innovative campaigns using Foursquare, to going back to basics with SMS, Domino’s continues to leverage mobile to its advantage.
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This Week's Mobile Marketing News
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Small business Newz
7 Marketing Metrics Worth Obsessing Over
Jan,03,2013
by:John Jantsch
Marketers need to measure a lot of things in order to get better. Not everyone does and those that do sometimes measure the wrong things. The obvious things like leads and sales revenue are important, but they’re quite often just a measure of what is and not an accurate measure of what could be or, perhaps more importantly, what’s causing what is. Until you can grasp the things that impact your organization’s true health you’ll be stuck treating symptoms instead of treating the disease. There are many ways to grow a business, including injecting lots of money into the generation of awareness and interest, but the most profitable way to grow a business is to take what it does well and grow organically through the base of your success. I’ve used the following seven metrics to gain a crystal clear picture about the health, growth potential and challenges facing a business interested in growing organically. I present these as seven metrics worth obsessing over.
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Web Pro News/Social Media
Shouldn’t Google Be Pushing Google+ On Its Users?
Jan,06,2013
by: Chris Crum
Google, who just officially came away from a major antitrust investigation unscathed, is now drawing some criticism in the press over its “requiring” of people to use Google+, or rather having a profile when they sign up for various services like Gmail, YouTube, etc. I’m not sure what the new revelation here is. Google has been integrating Google+ into just about every facet of its business since it was launched, and has been very clear from the beginning that Google+ is the social layer or “social spine,” if you will, of Google. With that stated (repeatedly) mentality, and last year’s changes to its privacy policy, nobody should be surprised to see Google continue to push Google+ on users. Google has repeated this line over and over again: “Google+ is Google.”
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e-Marketer
Whither the Brand Website?
Jan,07, 2013
by:Staff
Still an important piece of the content marketing landscape Brands are spending more time—and money—engaging with consumers outside of their brand sites on the likes of YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook and many other channels. As marketing efforts move to social networks and to content sites such as BuzzFeed, what happens to the brand’s dot-com?
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Small Business Healthcare Consortium

Hello Small Business Owners,
I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do. That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC).

This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority. And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC, I am personally inviting you and asking you to invite your network of small businesses to participate in a one hour, educational free webinar about the Affordable Care Act on January 15th at 11:00am CST or January 16th at 3:30pm CST. Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of this free webinar to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. It will discuss the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Follow this link to register for:
January 15th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq

January 16th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits. Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side. As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage.

The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. Please register:
January 15th, 11am CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq
January 16th, 3:30pm CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

And, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or ideas. Reach me at 312-286-8416 email wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology Healthcare IT Serives at www.wireheadtec.com/Home.html Find a listing of our SBHCC Steering Committee members at: www.cbhconline.org/smallbusiness .

Sincerely,
Howard Lee CIO
Wirehead Technology

If you need answers to your Healthcare IT needs now visit our Healthcare Managed Services page at Wirehead Technology

Featured Report:Fiscal cliff deal may spell bad news for diabetes patients on Medicare

Med City News
Jan,03,2013
by: Arundhati Parmar
A health policy expert with medical device trade association and lobby group AdvaMed worries that diabetes patients on Medicare may have gotten a bad deal with the recently passed fiscal cliff bill. The bill tackles the issue of how Medicare pays for diabetes supplies such as testing strips. Under the terms of Medicare Modernization Act, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have been developing a competitive bidding program to pay for many products including durable medical equipment and that includes diabetes testing strips. The competitive bidding program is under way in nine areas of the country.
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This Week's Healthcare News
Healthcare Info Security
Cloud Computing: Security a Hurdle
Jan,04,2013
by: Marianne Kolbasuk McGee,
While cloud computing can often provide cost-effective and convenient ways for healthcare organizations to store and share data and diagnostic images, two CISOs and a privacy advocate caution that security concerns are substantial. At a recent conference, the CISOs spelled out their concerns, ranging from difficulty enforcing strong business associate agreements with cloud providers to vendors' lack of openness about the robustness of their security measures.
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iHealthbeat
HHS Announces First Settlement From Small Health Data Breach
Jan,03,2013
by: Staff
On Wednesday, HHS announced that Hospice of North Idaho has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle potential HIPAA violations after an unencrypted laptop containing electronic health information on 441 patients was stolen in 2010, Becker's Hospital Review reports.

First HHS Settlement Stemming From Small Data Breach
The agreement marks HHS' first settlement resulting from a data breach affecting fewer than 500 people. Health data breaches that affect 500 or more individuals must be reported to HHS and the media within 60 days of discovering the incident. Breaches affecting fewer than 500 individuals must be reported to HHS annually.
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Modern Physician.com
Clock still ticking on overdue Sunshine Act rule
Jan,03, 2013
by:Jaimy Lee
The CMS missed its own 2012 deadline to issue the final rule for a regulation that aims to make financial relationships between healthcare providers and manufacturers more transparent. The Physician Payments Sunshine Act—a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act—requires drug and device companies to report payments or gifts given to physicians and teaching hospitals. It also mandates that manufacturers and group purchasing organizations disclose physician ownership and investment interests. However, multiple delays in the rulemaking process mean that data collection is not likely to begin until well into this year and that the data will not be publicly available until 2014. The original statute called for draft regulations on data reporting and collection to be issued in October 2011, for data collection to begin in January 2012 and for data to be made public starting in 2013.
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Small Business Healthcare Consortium

Hello Small Business Owners,
I am writing to you because our changing health care system will have a profound effect on all of us. Now that the election is over and the Supreme Court has ruled, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not going away. It will not be repealed and it is up to us to make sure it will work for small businesses and individuals as it was intended to do. That’s why I joined the Campaign for Better Health Care’s newly created Small Business Health Care Consortium (SBHCC).

This consortium views the needs of small businesses and their employees as a top priority. And, as a member of the Steering Committee of the SBHCC, I am personally inviting you and asking you to invite your network of small businesses to participate in a one hour, educational free webinar about the Affordable Care Act on January 15th at 11:00am CST or January 16th at 3:30pm CST. Discussions around health reform have been confusing and, sometimes, even misleading. It is the goal of this free webinar to provide factual information about the changes that are already happening and those coming in the near future. It will discuss the benefits and opportunities of the ACA and what Illinois small businesses need to do to make sure this law will benefit them.

Follow this link to register for:
January 15th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq

January 16th: https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

Many key components of the ACA are national in nature. For instance, small businesses currently providing health insurance to their employees could be eligible for a 35% tax credit. And, while employers with fewer than 50 full time employees are not required to provide health insurance, their employees can take advantage of the ACA’s benefits. Other components will be implemented at the State level and these decisions will either enhance small businesses or provide another hurdle. One important component is that all states must implement a health insurance exchange (marketplace). These exchanges will include a rate review process with defined, easy to understand plans to consider and review side-by-side. As small business owners we share many of the same, serious business challenges. It is my hope that you and your small business peers do want to learn more about the ACA. Let’s take this opportunity to act collectively to get control of health insurance costs and improve access to coverage.

The opportunity to create positive change is now. It is about fairness and choices for small businesses. Please register:
January 15th, 11am CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=ecg0qj9s21aq
January 16th, 3:30pm CST:
https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=m2wt2unotbju

And, do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or ideas. Reach me at 312-286-8416 email wireheadtec@gmail.com or Wirehead Technology Healthcare IT Serives at www.wireheadtec.com/Home.html Find a listing of our SBHCC Steering Committee members at: www.cbhconline.org/smallbusiness .

Sincerely,
Howard Lee CIO
Wirehead Technology

If you need answers to your Healthcare IT needs now visit our Healthcare Managed Services page at Wirehead Technology