duminică, 31 ianuarie 2016

Top 10 Best eBook Readers In 2015 Reviews

Even if Amazon came up with the first eBook reader all other gadget manufacturers could not stand aside. Today there are hundreds of eBook readers to choose from and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Competition drives the industry. With more manufacturers competing on the same market, prices went down, the performance of the readers improved and the number of PDF books available online exploded in the past couple of years. However, just like with any other gadgets, value for money ratio creates successful products. For this reason alone, the top 10 best eBook readers in 2014 have been chosen and listed to narrow down the search for the perfect travel friendly book library.


10. Sony PRS-T1

Sony PRS-T1
The Sony RPS-T1 seems inspired by the company’s Xperia handhelds. It has the very similar design but a totally different purpose. The eBook reader is available in various colors and comes with a few extra features such as a premium display, long battery life, light weight and visually appealing. According to the manufacturers the PRS-T1 is one of the slimmest eBook readers that come with a touchscreen. In adition to the basic functions, the reader also supports web browsing making it useful for something other than reading

9. Barnes & Noble NOOK eBook

Barnes & Noble NOOK eBook
The Barnes & Noble NOOK eBook is the perfect budget solution. It comes with all the basic functions of a reader. It doesn’t offer all that many but it does come with a touch color display. The manufacturers did add a bit of functionality to make it viable for web browsing and playing some games but the device works better when used just for reading. It does not have powerful enough hardware to do anything else and if it did it would have been considered a tablet and that is not the case with the NOOK.

8. Kobo Glo Digital Text Reader

Kobo Glo Digital Text Reader
The Kogo Glo is a light eBook reader that manages to stand tall alongside its major competitors Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It has a visually appealing design, wireless LAN support, decent screen resolution and good battery life. When it comes to book library, the Kobo has a smaller selection but on the other hand it is extremely easy to connect it to a PC and just transfer some PDF files. Last but not least the model comes in white which might be a bit unappealing for some but it does give the device a stylish and fresh look.

7. Kobo Aura HD Digital Text Reader

Kobo Aura HD Digital Text Reader
The Kobo Aura HD is an excellent eBook reader. Its build quality, display resolution and overall design and features place it amongst the best readers made so far but it has one major downside that prevents it go higher in this top 10. It is a bit too expensive and the ones that have a limited budget it can be a major inconvenience. The ones that do have the budget will find the display quality more than amazing. Also, it is a very thin device with a minimalistic yet eye-catching design.

6. Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle
The Kindle is the most basic eBook reader available from Amazon. This also affects the price of the device which is just over $50. It has a simple design, it is light and easy to carry around since it has a 6 inch display that makes it similar in size to a 7 inch tablet. To be noted that the Kindle does not feature a touchscreen and the user will have to use the physical buttons placed at the bottom of the display to navigate. It supports wi-fi connections and has an amazing battery life.

5. Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch

Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch
For just under $80 the Nook Simple Touch is a decent option for the ones that want a convenient eBook reader that is small, light and comes with a touchscreen. The Nook has a 6 inch screen which is just enough to read a digital book and a large battery that can keep the reader powered for two months on standby. The ones that are interested in getting one should know that the library offered by Barnes & Noble has been populated with more titles reaching more than 2 million books.

4. Kindle DX

Kindle DX
The Kindle DX is an expensive eBook reader but it does come with some nice perks. The display is 9.7 inch which makes it also one of the largest readers on the market. At the same time, the internal memory offers more than enough space to store no less than 3500 books. Sadly it does not have touchscreen functionality but it does have a qwerty keyboard which makes it easy to write emails and carry out any tasks that would require typing. The DX also includes a 3G module and Wi-Fi support making it easy to connect to the internet. A single charge is estimated to be enough for two weeks of usage.

3. Sony PRS-600BC Touch Edition

Sony PRS-600BC Touch Edition
Sony decided to play smart this time and build something that looks different. The PRS-600 is one of the few eBook readers that had its case design to make it look like a book. Also, the display resolution is a bit higher than average but it is well reflected in the quality of the device. It can be connected to a PC or laptop for file transfer and reads almost all the popular eBook formats.

2. Kindle Keyboard 3G

Kindle Keyboard 3G
From many points of view, the Kindle Keyboard 3G is quite similar to the DX but it comes at a much lower price and that is mainly because it has a smaller display. It still comes with a convenient qwerty keyboard, 3G and Wi-Fi support. It does not have a memory expansion slot but the internal memory is enough to hold thousands of books. Last but not least, the Kindle Keyboard comes with a Text-to-Speech feature that turns any eBook into an audio book.

1. Kindle Paperwhite

Kindle Paperwhite
The Kindle Papwerwhite is the most popular eBook reader to date. It is extremely light, comes with a great display that makes it possible to read even under direct sunlight and offers an excellent up time. It has just a power button as the navigation is done with the aid of the touchscreen. As expected, the device comes with Wi-Fi support, free cloud storage and a reasonable internal memory that can hold thousands of books.

miercuri, 7 octombrie 2015

21 Content Marketing Blogs You Should Read Every Day

What are the top content marketing blogs you read every day?

This is a question I get asked, just about every day. And while there is a long list of blogs and media sites I browse, a bunch of great B2B Marketing blog sites, and many, many more sites I could mention, this is my go-to list of top content marketing blogs I read every day.
The list spans across everything from non-profit associations, to media companies, to startup founder blogs, to technology companies, to research organizations and of course, to content marketing consultants.
I listed my top two resources (CMI and MarketingProfs) in order, but I ask that you don’t read too much into the order after that. There are days when our own NewsCred blog creates a better article than just about anybody. And there are days when anyone else on this list does the same.
I’ve also listed some of the top articles for each site, according to one of my favorite free content marketing toolsBuzzSumo, to give you a flavor for what they publish.
In full disclosure, I list my own site at #21. But I’ll leave it up to you to decide if it deserves to be a top content marketing blog.
I list the NewsCred blog as well because I believe we’ve earned a mention, but I also list some of our competitors who are trying to add to the content marketing conversation and advancing the cause of content marketing with their blogs.
So if I missed someone you read EVERY DAY, please let me know in the comments below?

21 Content Marketing Blogs I Read Every Day

  1. Content Marketing Institute (@CMIContent) – everything you need to know about content marketing. If you pick one resource, this is the one. Joe and his amazing team know how to do it right. They don’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk too with awesome conversions, focus on subscriptions and a print magazine to boot. Best article of the past year? How To Write Content That Engages Mobile Readers by Neil Patel has more than 3,000 social shares (see my shout out to Neil below).
  2. MarketingProfs (@MarketingProfs) – Led by their amazing Chief Content Officer @AnnHandley, this is one of the best resources covering the latest trends and thought leadership in marketing. If you only pick two sites, these are the two to read and share. Best article of the past year? How To Overcome The ‘No Time To Create Content’ Challenge by Joe Chernov – it has more than 4,000 social shares (and . . . see my shout out to Joe below)
  3. Hubspot (@Hubspot) – The top resource for inbound marketers. Run by my good friend Joe Chernov (@jchernov). 20 Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Pinterest Features You Didn’t Know Existed (But Totally Should) by Lindsay Kolowich has more than 16,000 shares (holy cow!) Lindsay has the top 3 spots on the Hubspot blog.
  4. Neil Patel’s (@neilpatelQuickSprout Blog (@quicksprout) is an awesome resource on SEO related content marketing articles. His top blog is How Spending $162,301.42 on Clothes Made Me $692,500. It has more than 10,000 shares. For real. Check it out. Also see a great blog on SEO What SEO Used to Be Versus What SEO Is Now.
  5. Kevan Lee’s (@kevanleeBufferApp blog (@buffer) is probably one of the best blogs on the internet, and a great resource for startup marketing. His top blog, Inside the Facebook News Feed: A List of Algorithm Factors has more than 12,000 shares.
  6. Digiday (@Digiday) covers the latest trends in digital marketing. Their top article is Why agency people are so unhappy. Not surprising then that I wrotethis rebuttal against a popular Digiday “copyranter.” Check it out!
  7. Lee Odden’s (@LeeOddenTopRank Blog (@toprank) is a top resource for content marketing, SEO and more. His best blog of the past year? 25 Women Who Rock Social Media. Yep, that’s just the kind of guy Lee is.
  8. Copyblogger Blog (@copyblogger) has been doling out online marketing advice for quite some time. Their big move this past year created their top socially shared article, Why Copyblogger Is Killing Its Facebook Page – Copyblogger.
  9. Social Media Examiner (@smexaminer) is nailing the social media aspect of content marketing. This blog is a model to follow as well. Their top post generated almost 18,000 social shares with 20 Social Media Marketing Tips From the Pros.
  10. Mark Schaefer’s {Grow} has been helping marketers for a while as well. He’s good for a dose of advice every single day. His top article is 25 ideas for your social media network strategy.
  11. Convince and Convert by Jay Baer (@JayBaer) is a great resource from one of the smartest and best guys in content marketing. His top article is Why It Might Be Time to Completely Change Your Social Media Strategy.
  12. eMarketer (@eMarketer) is a great marketer resource for stats. Hers’s their top article of the past year: Total US Ad Spending to See Largest Increase Since 2004. Yeah, they got stats on people still spending money on ads, yo!
  13. MarketingSherpa (@MarketingSherpa) provides research reports and blogs on marketing. And their top article of the past year is on content marketing: Content Marketing 101: Tips on content strategy.
  14. Social Media Today (@SocialMedia2day) is a great site syndicating some of the best authors covering social media. Their top post has received more than 176,000 social shares!!! Let’s Talk: Retaining Ownership of Your Personal Data.
  15. Adobe’s CMO.com (@CMO_com)  covers marketing and digital trends for marketing leaders. Their top blog is Kevin Spacey’s Top 3 Tips For Better Storytelling. Yes, That Kevin Spacey but I like to think they were just inspired by my own WTF Does Kevin Spacey Know About Content Marketing.
  16. The Chief Marketing Technologist Blog from Scott Brinker, the CTO of Ion Interactive, talks about the combination of marketing and technology (@chiefmartec). This may be off many people’s radars but Scott is one smart dude. His top post, Marketing Technology Landscape Supergraphic (2015)  has been shared almost 7,000 times and it’s worth checking out. This is a blog to subscribe to.
  17. The NewsCred Content Marketing blog is an obvious choice (Disclosure: I work here!) but I feel 100% confident that if you read it and subscribe, you won’t be sorry. Our top story is (humbly) an article covering a talk some crazy dude did about how Marketing Has A Marketing Problem.
  18. Contently’s Content Strategist blog is also a good choice. Not only do I need to give some equal time to our competitors, it’s just the right thing to do. Their top article is This Surprising Reading Level Analysis Will Change the Way You Write by co-founder Shane Snow.
  19. Kapost’s Content Marketeer is run by my good friend Jesse Noyes (@NoyesJesse) and his team. These are some classy folks doing some good things in content marketing and the industry is better for it. Their top post is 7 Marketing Cheat Sheets You’ll Use Again and Again by Jesse himself. But also check out Are Influencers Tired of Influencer Marketing? by @andrewjcoate that included some quotes from yours truly. 
  20. SmartBrief on Social Media (@SBoSM) does a great job at curating the latest news on social media and content marketing related articles from all over the web. Their top piece of content is 3 social marketing tools that come with super powers.
  21. My own B2B Marketing Insider? You be the judge. My top posts of the last year are The Top 200 Content Marketing Brands And Influencers20 Amazing Examples Of Brand Content Marketing Hubs29 Amazing Content Marketing Quotes To Inspire YouHey Marketing: An Inquiry Is Not A Lead, and 22 Free Content Marketing Tools To Drive Your Content Marketing Plans.
This post originally appeared on B2B Marketing Insider