Skip to main content

The Meaning of Headlines: 'sleeper' - technology




The Tech section of USA Today published an article on March 17, 2016, with the headline: ‘Apple Watch isn’t a smash hit, but it could be a sleeper.’ What does ‘a sleeper’ mean?

Oxford Dictionaries defines ‘sleeper’ as ‘a person who is asleep’ or ‘a thing used for or connected with sleeping’ or ‘a film, book, play, etc. that eventually achieves unexpected success after initially attracting very little attention.’ The latter is the definition used in this article. In this case, the subject is technology – the Apple Watch.

The article commences by stating that the ‘Nearly a year ago, Apple Watch was released to great fanfare, with many in the tech press expecting the digital smartwatch to become the next must-have gadget’ – which means that it, indeed, the watch was expected to sell well. However, this seems to contradict the definition, which states that initially the item attracts little attention.

But, the article states that ‘the sea-change in public behaviour—say everyone tethered to their wrist rather than bending over their phone—just hasn’t happened.’ The article provided a quote from technology analyst with Piper Jaffray, Gene Munster, saying that ‘it’s taken time for people to understand how to get the most of it.’ This confirms the definition – the watch has attracted little attention initially.

After it was released in April 2015, the Apple Watch still hasn’t gained much interest. Apple has not released sales figures, which is an indicator that it hasn’t sold as well as its iPhone, iPad, and computers (Apple regularly publishes these sales figures).

The article continues by stating that Gene Munster thinks ‘over time, it will be a sleeper.’ The author concludes with: ‘Just like the iPad and iPhone, which grew substantially in the years after its launch, analysts say the watch will see pickup in the coming years.’

Scorecard for the USA Today headline is 100%. The author reinforces the word ‘sleeper’ in the article – and interestingly adds that the watch will ‘take time’ to gain sales. It’s all about give and take. Of course, all watches give time, but this one will take time.



MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing