Apple Claim Chowder: Evolutionary Or Revolutionary

With an Apple Event fast approaching, I’m reviewing critiques of past Apple Events to see how accurate they were. Turns out, not very. Critique is needed and welcome. Repeated errors? Not so much. Evolutionary Or Revolutionary The iPhone and the iPad have received a lot of criticism for being evolutionary, not revolutionary. I take strong … Continue reading Apple Claim Chowder: Evolutionary Or Revolutionary

How to Turn Around Samsung

In my continual analysis of Samsung for many in the industry, I have frequently pointed out the fundamental issues that have led to their current struggles. I had a friend remind me that, over two years ago, I gave a presentation to his VC firm where I pointed out Samsung would face struggles. He reminded … Continue reading How to Turn Around Samsung

If the World Was a Village – Tech Edition

Bob’s column yesterday brought back into attention some of the things I discussed in this article called Computing’s S-Curve. We are on the path to connect the planet via a pocket computer. This is so incredibly significant it is difficult to overstate. In many of the presentations we give at Creative Strategies, we emphasize we … Continue reading If the World Was a Village – Tech Edition

Apple Claim Chowder: Cynicism

With an Apple Event fast approaching, I’m reviewing critiques of past Apple Events to see how accurate they were. Turns out, not very. Critique is needed and welcome. Repeated errors? Not so much. Cynicism All companies suffer from the slings and arrows of outrageous criticism. However, some companies seem to suffer more than their unfair … Continue reading Apple Claim Chowder: Cynicism

Smart Connected Devices: A New Forecast

As an analyst, one of the first things I was ever asked to do was put together a forecast. In fact, a key part of an analyst’s job is to dive deeply into a market, learn as much as you can about what the current market size is, understand where it’s going, and use all … Continue reading Smart Connected Devices: A New Forecast

Apple Claim Chowder: Killers

With an Apple Event fast approaching, I’m reviewing critiques of past Apple Events to see how accurate they were. Turns out, not very. Critique is needed and welcome. Repeated errors? Not so much. Killers There is a long, sordid history of products being introduced as iPod, iPhone, and iPad Killers. You know the deal. Product … Continue reading Apple Claim Chowder: Killers

How Microsoft and Apple’s Ads Define Their Strategy

Recently, after spending a lot of time with many of Microsoft’s OEM partners and looking at their overall strategic view of the PC and tablet markets of the future, it has become clear to me there really is a huge difference between how Microsoft and their partners view the computing market compared to the way … Continue reading How Microsoft and Apple’s Ads Define Their Strategy

My Phablet Skepticism Thesis

I have been publicly doubting the existence of the 5.5 inch iPhone for some time. I promised many on Twitter I would share my overall thesis on the category so here it is. Starting from the data points, we know several things. In the USA, phablet sales are quite small. Our estimates have the active … Continue reading My Phablet Skepticism Thesis

Mac vs. PC All Over Again

The latest round of company quarterly financial results illuminate three trends in the device market: Apple continues to generate record profits largely due to growing iPhone sales (iPad sales are slowly declining, Macs are growing, iPod sales are mostly gone, and Apple’s services revenues are growing) Samsung’s profits are steadily declining (though from such a … Continue reading Mac vs. PC All Over Again

Phablets—aka Pocket Computers—Drive New World Order

I’m writing this week’s column from the comfort of my hotel room in Shenzhen, China where I just witnessed first hand the evolutionary wave that has begun to take over the world of smart connected devices — phablets are king. Everywhere I turned in one of the many buildings stuffed full of electronics products and … Continue reading Phablets—aka Pocket Computers—Drive New World Order

The Unbearable Loneliness Of The Sharing Economy

The sharing economy promises the potential for riches, personal empowerment, new modes of work, and fear, the kind of fear that swells from a livelihood dependent upon algorithms, star ratings, and the feedback of strangers.  When we imagined the future, certainly starting from the point when the smartphone was born, few of us expected a … Continue reading The Unbearable Loneliness Of The Sharing Economy

Why an iWatch is not Apple’s next big thing

For those of us who have followed the life of Steve Jobs, we know most of the products he brought to market were ones he wanted to use himself. They came out of his personal life experiences. The iPod came out of his love of music and his frustrations with not being able to access … Continue reading Why an iWatch is not Apple’s next big thing

Apple and mobile payments

In last week’s column, I talked about the current state of smartwatches. I described weak demand met by weak supply, and the resulting poor sales of the offerings in the market today. I also talked about what it might take for a new product in this category to stimulate demand. One of the potential use … Continue reading Apple and mobile payments

Analyzing the Surface Pro 3

I’ve spent the past week with a Surface Pro 3. I’ve used every previous version of Surface and given what the promise of a 2-in-1 PC was supposed to be, the Surface Pro 3 is the closest yet to fulfilling that promise. I was very harsh on the original Surface and, while my overall thesis (which … Continue reading Analyzing the Surface Pro 3

Device Usage Diversity

When we think about how devices and their usage are evolving, it’s tempting to talk about the rise of one versus the decline of another. But the reality is much more complex. What’s actually happening is that people are acquiring more devices, while simultaneously engaging in more activities, and then splitting those activities across their … Continue reading Device Usage Diversity

Microsoft’s Surface Ads: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Microsoft has introduced three new ads for its Surface Pro 3 tablets called “Power,” “Head to Head,” and “Crowded.” You can view them HERE. The Good The ads are well done. Clever, funny, short and to the point. I’ve seen some griping that the ads are entirely negative: “I don’t know why they would compare … Continue reading Microsoft’s Surface Ads: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

A PC Future With No Wires

I recently spent some time with Intel executives who reiterated that their major push in PCs in the next few years would be around 2-in-1s. They believe this is the next major thing in PCs and believe that 2-in-1s will represent 100 million of the 280-300+ million PCs that will ship in 2018. While this is … Continue reading A PC Future With No Wires

Grading on a curve: Smartwatches in 2014

I’ve just published a new report for my subscription clients on the topic of smartwatches. The report combines consumer research on demand drivers for smartphones, such as fitness tracking and the use of push notifications, with a review of the state of the products on offer from the major vendors. I thought for this week’s … Continue reading Grading on a curve: Smartwatches in 2014

A Bird’s Eye View: The Humbled Steve Jobs

This new series A Bird’s Eye View will feature short stories by Tim Bajarin, a 33 year industry veteran of the technology industry. These stories and anecdotes are ones Tim has collected through his 30-plus years as an analyst and will provide a behind the scenes look at many of the industries historical moments. In … Continue reading A Bird’s Eye View: The Humbled Steve Jobs

Big Changes at Microsoft: Define “Platform”

Satya Nadella is just the third CEO in Microsoft’s nearly 40 year history. For most of that time, Microsoft followed a fairly simple strategy: license operating system software to OEMs and sell software to consumers, and later, enterprises. Bill Gates’ Microsoft: Licensed Software During Bill Gates’ time as CEO, Microsoft did offer a limited line … Continue reading Big Changes at Microsoft: Define “Platform”

New Life for PCs

After having been written off as dead more times than I can remember, it seems the PC industry is staging a resurrection of sorts, driven by both businesses and consumers starting to realize that PCs are still useful devices that they’d like to have around. Not only are we starting to hear more positive news … Continue reading New Life for PCs

Steve Jobs Reveals The Only Way Forward For Windows Phone

The only way forward for Windows Phone — that is not death — is work. Real work. In the 21st century, real work is inherently collaborative. Collaboration is the Achilles Heel of all things iPhone, iOS, and Apple. Steve Jobs, for all his greatness, for all he achieved, did not play well with others. Evidence … Continue reading Steve Jobs Reveals The Only Way Forward For Windows Phone

Margins: Apple, Samsung, and Consumer Electronics

Some recent media has come out stating we need to acknowledge Apple knows what it’s doing as a company and with their strategy. I don’t know any analysts worth their reputation, either on the financial or industry side, who ever doubted Apple knew what it was doing. Part of the quibble with Apple from said … Continue reading Margins: Apple, Samsung, and Consumer Electronics

What Does Cloud-First, Mobile-First Mean for Microsoft?

I’ve been meaning to write about this for some time now but with all the tech news lately I’ve been focused on other things. In Satya Nadella’s first email to employees on the day he took over as CEO, he said, “Our job is to ensure that Microsoft thrives in a mobile and cloud-first world.” … Continue reading What Does Cloud-First, Mobile-First Mean for Microsoft?