Earnings season technically isn’t over yet – there are still a few companies reporting their results in the next few weeks. But the vast majority of the big name tech firms have now reported, so I wanted to review for Insiders some of the key trends from what these companies have reported over the last … Continue reading Themes From Earnings Season
I find it helpful to view certain tech industry moments as phases. These phases have some foundation in technology and the market’s maturity cycles. The PC industry went through a number of phases leading to where we are today. Mobile similarly has gone through its early phases and is now entering maturity both in technology … Continue reading The Android Schism
One of my focus areas from my consumer panel research is what consumers do, not just on their devices in terms of activities, but with the software and apps as well. I run regular panels on most the major apps to understand usage trends. Twitter is interesting because it is very different than Facebook. I’m … Continue reading Research: Understanding Twitter’s User Habits
Don’t believe that the Federal Communications Commissions coming agreement of network neutrality will end a long-running fight. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler finally announced he will support a formal regulation line for internet services. With the expected support of Democratic commission members Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, the decision now seems in place. But the final outcome … Continue reading Net Neutrality Heads for a Two-Party Fight
There were reports on Wednesday that Microsoft had acquired the maker of the Sunrise calendar apps for iOS, Android, Mac and the web for over $100 million. This follows Microsoft’s acquisition of email app Accompli for $200 million a couple of months ago. One of the most pointed responses to the latest acquisitions came from … Continue reading What Microsoft’s Productivity Acquisitions Really Mean
The Harris Poll has come out with its 2015 Reputation Quotient (RQ) and the result suggests, at least in the tech industry, people should be careful interpreting the results. Actually, the No. 1 company on the list is a serious warning. The top pick, Wegmans Food Markets, is a popular and fast growing grocery, but it … Continue reading Watch Out for Popularity
DISH Network is a company that has not gotten a lot of attention in the internet business. After all, it mainly exists as a cable TV competitor, suppling service to about 14 million customers through satellite dishes. But, pushed along by founder Charlie Ergen (left), it is moving in on the business, starting up new … Continue reading DISH Moves In
There is an observation I keep thinking about. When I step back and look at the big picture of the Entire mobile industry, it is becoming increasingly clear Apple is acquiring what is essentially a monopoly on the most profitable customers. Apple’s iPhone market share is hovering around 20% of the total installed base of smart phones and … Continue reading The iPhone and the Minority Majority
74.5 million iPhones exceeded everyone’s expectations. You can only see that number and feel there remains unprecedented demand for the iPhone. More importantly, demand is not yet satisfied. Apple said only a small percentage (“low teens”) upgraded this cycle. There is still a lot of the iPhone installed base to upgrade in the coming years. What … Continue reading Apple’s Bigger Than Big Quarter
This is the second in my series of posts previewing the week’s tech earnings (the first, for last week, is here). I have at least one more week of these to go and both weeks will be very busy, with lots of tech company earnings announcements due. To avoid clutter, instead of embedding charts in this … Continue reading Tech earnings preview for week of January 26th
At yesterday’s Windows 10 event, Satya Nadella highlighted the theme I think encapsulated both what Microsoft is trying to do with the new operating system and what it needs to do more broadly as a company. In his closing remarks, Nadella said (I’m paraphrasing slightly in the absence of an official transcript): “We want to … Continue reading From Needing Windows to Loving Windows
What a difference a day makes in the tech business. Having attended yesterday’s Windows 10 unveiling at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, WA, I was one of the lucky few who got to try out an early prototype of Microsoft’s intriguing new holographic computing device: the head-mounted Microsoft HoloLens. Though Microsoft showed the world a sleek, … Continue reading Hands-On (or Heads-on) With HoloLens
Most governments’ reaction to the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo and a kosher market in Paris seemed sensible. The major exception was a pledge by Prime Minister David Cameron to shut down encryption on messages in the U.K. No better is the push on President Obama to follow the mission. One reason for limited reaction in … Continue reading It’s Scary: Government’s Fight Against Encryption
President Obama is vigorously–for a change–pushing two modifications in government policy for internet networks. One, changing the treatment of internet service to be more like the telephone service, is a complex issue with strong arguments on both sides. His second fight, the use of fiber distribution around the nation, is a clear advantage for citizens that likely isn’t … Continue reading Why Obama Probably Can’t Succeed with Fiber
I am going to embark on a three part series about Xiaomi. Today, I’ll talk about Xiaomi as a smart phone company. Next, I’ll talk about them as an Internet of Things company. Lastly, I’ll talk about them as an internet services company. Their Role As a Smart phone Company Where does Xiaomi fit as … Continue reading Understanding Xiaomi Part 1: As a Smart phone Company
Microsoft’s biggest asset and liability I’ve long said Microsoft’s enormous and diverse installed base of Windows and Office users is both its biggest asset and its biggest liability. The base commands respect and interest from would-be partners and customers and helps to preserve sales of its software and services. But it also means any time Microsoft … Continue reading Apple’s Diversifying and Maturing User Base
Every year I walk the little known back halls of CES where the Chinese/Shenzhen manufacturers show off products coming out of the their manufacturing ecosystem. Given the global influence of the Shenzhen manufacturing ecosystem, I go to the halls to learn more about the China market and see what’s the new hot item China is manufacturing. … Continue reading The Accessory Benefiting Most from Low Cost Android Phones
One of the many big themes that came out of this year’s CES show was the idea of the smart (aka “connected”) home. Of course, it’s not really a new concept. People have been talking about smart homes for several years, and the success of products like the Nest thermostat have started to provide concrete … Continue reading Smart Home Situation Likely To Get Worse Before It Gets Better
Last week, I prepared a presentation on the connected car and smart home for one of my clients and I had the opportunity to present the resulting slides on Monday this week. I wanted to elaborate on one of the ideas that came up during the presentation and the resulting discussion and something that, while … Continue reading Smartphone winners, the car and the home
I’m at CES this week and its given me an opportunity to check in with many of the key players in the technology industry and hear their latest news. One of the companies I’ve found most intriguing to catch up with is Lenovo, which I continue to believe is the company to watch in the … Continue reading Why I’m bullish on Lenovo
This is the last in my series of posts on big technology companies in 2015. From next week on, I’ll be moving on to new topics. Core user growth Facebook should see continued growth in its key user metric, monthly active users, in 2015. Growth has slowed a little, as the chart below shows, but … Continue reading Facebook in 2015
There was an interesting announcement today that many will mistake as “advertising” on the upcoming Apple Watch. TapSense announced a hyper-local/contextual platform that delivers promotions to the Apple Watch. Some see this as something people will hate or not appreciate. However, if done right, this could be extremely valuable and strategic in driving the smartwatch into … Continue reading Wrist Based Advertising
For the last 26 years, I have taken a stab at predicting tech trends. Here is a link to my predictions for 2014. Note I was half right when I predicted Google would spin off Motorola to its own company. They instead sold to Lenovo. Interestingly, three years earlier, Ben and I predicted Google would buy Motorola and … Continue reading 10 Tech Predictions for the New Year
I thought I’d try a different spin on the familiar “Year In Review” stories we see at this time of year and outline what I think the five biggest tech news stories of 2014 were and why. Apple: Watch Announcement, September The biggest story regarding Apple was the Apple Watch announcement, which was only one of … Continue reading The five biggest tech news stories of 2014
After a break for Christmas, I’m continuing my series on major tech companies in 2015. You can read the previous ones here: Apple, Microsoft, and Google. Today, I’m tackling Amazon. I’m going to keep the series going for at least another week or two – I’ve had some input from readers on which companies should … Continue reading Amazon in 2015
