First Nations’ representatives of British Columbia have a dispute with the federal government, claiming to shut down the $ 8-billion B.C. Hydroelectric mega project “Site C”. The purpose of “Site C” is to support the demand of energy for growing population in B.C., also support the regional oil, gas and mining industries.

In my opinion, it is hard to decidewhether it is right or wrong to construct the plant. From the government’s point of view,the “Site C” project could stimulate the economy, improving regional industry activities and generating more job opportunities.

On the other side, the cumulative impact tothe environment is devastating. This industrial development would destroy the farmland and wildlife habitat. Also, the project would result in serious adverse effects on the traditional hunting, fishing and other land uses of First Nations.

As a result, while conducting the review of the proposed site C hydroelectric project, the government should take careful considerations in the aspects of significant environmental & cultural impacts, as well as the violation on the First Nations’ constitutionally protected treaty rights. In addition, the government should examine other option as back up.

Work Cited:

O’Neil, Peter. “First Nation chiefs to stage Site C showdown “. 18 September 2014. Vancouver Sun. 7 October 2014.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/First+Nation+chiefs+stage+Site+showdown/10215965/story.html

Image Reference:

http://energeticcity.ca/article/news/2014/07/25/b-c-hydro-and-cope-ratify-agreement

https://www.bchydro.com/energy-in-bc/projects/site_c.html

On May 28, 2014, Apple confirmed to buy headphone producer Beats Electronics for three billion US dollars. This purchase is the largest acquisition in Apple history. In the deal, two Beats co-founders, hip-hop artist entrepreneur, Dr. Dre and Interscope Records executive Jimmy Iovine will join Apple Inc. as part of the agreement.

People were wondering why Apple would spend such large amount of money to buy a headphone company. Here, I generalize some reasons.

Firstly, Apple seeks the high potential of Beats Music streaming service and its backstage developing team. This service allows Apple to compete against other rivals such as Spotify and Pandora, the dominant music streaming companies. Apple’s iTunes, once the dominant force in paid music downloads, has become more of a window-shopping venue. According to Billboard statistics, only 1-2% of consumers hit “download/buy” when listening to iTunes Radio.

Secondly, the headphones/earphones that Beats produce are certainly better than the Apple earphones in the aspects of sound quality and design. It seems much more appealing to have a Beats headphone/earphone package with an iPhone rather than an ear pod.

Thirdly, the innovative design of Beats perfectly fits with the design of Apple products. Both of the brands target teenagers and young adults who like fashionable products that look cool. Beats has also built a solid business off the back of celebrity endorsements, which is similar to Apple.

In conclusion, the main motivation Apple bought Beats is Apple wants to prevent its iPod and iTunes business from failure. The music streaming service may lead to more purchase and download from iTunes, while the Beats headphones/earphones may lead to increase in demand for iPod and iPhone.

Work Cited:

Moore, Heide. “Apple buys Dr Dre’s Beats for $3bn as company returns to music industry “. 28 Wednesday 2014. The Guardian. 6 October 2014.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/28/apple-buys-beats-dr-dre-music-streaming

Bershidsky, Leonid. “So Why Did Apple Buy Beats? “. 23 September 2014. Bloomberg View. 6 October 2014.

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-09-23/so-why-did-apple-buy-beats

Image Cited:

Moore, Heide. “Apple buys Dr Dre’s Beats for $3bn as company returns to music industry “. 28 Wednesday 2014. The Guardian. 6 October 2014.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/may/28/apple-buys-beats-dr-dre-music-streaming

Beats rumoured to be launching in Australia in the next few weeks

“Xiaomi” is privately owned ChineseElectronics Company headquartered in Beijing,capital city of China. It is one of the local largest enterprisesthat design, manufacture, and sell smartphones and consumer electronics.

According to the statistics, “Xiaomi” has recently become the world’s 5^th largest smartphone company. The young electronic star has captured 5.1% global market share compared to1.8% this time last year, with a growth of 3.3% within one year. Unbelievably, “Xiaomi” is only four years old, and just a“freshman” in the market.

“Xiaomi”s’ main strategies leadto its success.  It’s differentiated as cheap price, clearly targeted market and clear brand image.The price of “Xiaomi” phone ranges from 80 to 400 US dollars, which is very cheap comparing to global rivals iPhone and Samsung. It targets the middle to lower income customers who desire an affordable smartphone. Xiaomi satisfies all the wants and needs of this type of customers: cheap price, big screen, nice looking and easy to use.

There is a rapidly growing demand of smartphone in poor emerging markets, notably in India, Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. “Xiaomi” will grasp those market opportunities to position its’ smartphones with cheap price and competitive qualities what an iPhone and Samsung has.It will generate greater demand in the future. “Xiaomi” is heading to ten new countries this year, it is going global.

Work Cited:

Olson, Parmy. “China’s Xiaomi Becomes World’s 5th Largest Smartphone Maker “. 31 July 2014. Forbes. 5 October 2014.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/07/31/chinas-xiaomi-becomes-worlds-5th-largest-smartphone-maker/

Photo Cited:

http://www.geek.com/mobile/xiaomi-phone-2-unveiled-as-quad-core-beast-with-jelly-bean-for-just-310-1509745/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/parmyolson/2014/07/31/chinas-xiaomi-becomes-worlds-5th-largest-smartphone-maker/

On April 25^th, 2014, Microsoft completed the U.S dollar 7.5 billion acquisition of Nokia. Nokia’s phone and tablet service would run as a separate division of the Microsoft Corporation called Devices Group, Microsoft Mobile.

Nokia was almost bankrupt due to the intense competition within mobile phone market. It was once the biggest mobile phone producer in the world, an absolute leader in the market. When Apple released its first iPhone in 2007, everything dramatically changed. Nokia was slow to adapt to the new generation of smart phone, which features the quality of sensitive touchscreen and application (“app”) store. Other manufactures such as Samsung and HTC using Android system, a sensitive touchscreen display that provides an efficient, convenient and stabilized mobile phone operating system. Though Nokia later tried to use the Windows mobile phone system for its top-tier products, but was still hard to compete with three dominant smartphones, Apple, Samsung and HTC.

In my opinion, this acquisition is beneficial for Microsoft, but it has uncertainty. First of all, this acquisition gives Microsoft access to hardware technology and access to Nokia’s distribution network. In the other words, it assistsMicrosoft to accelerate innovation and market adoption for Windows Phones and attracts billions of customers by integrating Microsoft services with Nokia mobile phones.

In addition, this acquisition gives Microsoft the opportunity to expand its product to the business users. Apple and Google’s Android dominate the consumer mobile devices market today. iPads and Android tablets tend to get used mainly for entertainment, but for business users they have limited business value. Therefore, combining Nokia and Microsoft devices have the potential for a stronger offering for the business market.

Last, this acquisition also has uncertainty.The completion of this acquisition is just a key step on the journey towards integration. Google had acquired Motorola with a similar intention and then sold it off recently.

Work Cited:

Kovach, Steve. “Microsoft Closes Its $7.2 Billion Purchase Of Nokia”. 25 April 2014. Business Insider. 5 October 2014.

http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-closes-nokia-acquisition-2014-4

Cambell, Anita. 4 September 2014. Small Business Trends. 5 October 2014.

http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/09/microsoft-nokia-acquisition.html

Molina, Brett. “Microsoft to close Nokia deal on Friday “. 21 April 2014. USA Today. 5 October 2014.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/04/21/microsoft-nokia-deal/7969279/

Imaged Cited:

Cambell, Anita. 4 September 2014. Small Business Trends. 5 October 2014.

http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/09/microsoft-nokia-acquisition.html