I’ve always found it fascinating the two dominant companies in the smartphone market – Samsung and Apple – have such different business models. On the one hand, you have a company that approaches the market in a tightly integrated fashion, combining hardware, software and services in a proprietary way, encapsulating them in a very small … Continue reading Is Samsung’s Exceptionalism Coming to an End?
Last week, I wrote a column entitled “Understanding Apple’s Wearable Strategy” where I laid out the idea of using an iWatch or iBand for personal ID. I mentioned I had used a RFID band while at Disney World and I could see Apple making digital identity a key pillar of any wearable device they bring to … Continue reading The Importance of Dual Authentication in Wearable Devices
One of the many hassles of the “multi-device per person” era we now find ourselves in, is the need to constantly log-in to each of our devices and password-protected web sites/online services multiple times a day. Jumping between devices generally makes the problem even worse because—for good reason—the process of logging into a particular site … Continue reading Portable Digital Identities
Without question the mobile platform wars are over. iOS and Android have both won and have won in very different ways. Granted, with an eventual total mobile addressable market of over four billion people, there is room for more than just two platforms. However, when it comes to the largest installed base/ecosystem, I’m confident it … Continue reading iOS, Android, and the Dividing of Business Models
There are over a billion active users of Google’s version of Android. Add AOSP and we are probably in the 1.6 to 1.7 billion range of users on Android. Both will grow — however, I believe Google’s version of Android will grow at a more rapid pace than AOSP. This is largely thanks to big … Continue reading Android and the Next Billion
The more I study the mobile landscape the more it becomes clear that many companies are competing for what is arguable the most important device for global consumer–the mobile device. Winning mobile, and by that I mean being sustainably relevant, is the battle that is happening as we speak. Those who entrench themselves as leaders … Continue reading Mobile Opportunities and Challenges In the Android Ecosystem
Anyone who studies business — and especially those who follow tech — knows Clayton Christensen is the business school professor who developed the theory of disruption. This week, in an article in the New Yorker, Jill Lepore took that theory — and Clay Christensen — to task. Will Oremus, of Slate, sums up part of … Continue reading Disruption Corruption: What Disruption Theory Is And What It Isn’t
John Gruber of Daring Fireball wrote a great piece called “Only Apple” where he laid out a solid case that, in many instances, only Apple could deliver the type of experiences and devices that make up a huge part of their success. I suggest you read it when you have time as it delivers a … Continue reading Only Apple, Yes, But Only Tim as Well
In the run-up to Amazon’s Fire Phone announcement, and especially as it was announced, I saw a wide range of responses from bloggers and others that seemed to fundamentally misunderstand where the Fire Phone sits in Amazon’s strategy. So I thought I’d have a go at explaining where I think it sits, based on my … Continue reading Where the Fire Phone sits in Amazon’s strategy
When Apple announced their latest processor architecture for the A7 was 64-bit based instead of 32-bit, they created the media misunderstanding of the century. Not only were a great many of the media misinterpreting the significance of the new architecture but many industry executives did as well, with some calling it just a marketing ploy. How wrong … Continue reading Answering the 64-Bit Question
An Apple Strategy Failure Let’s start with a little history. In the 1980’s… Apple had agreed to license certain parts of its GUI to Microsoft for use in Windows 1.0, but when Microsoft made changes in Windows 2.0 adding overlapping windows and other features found in the Macintosh GUI, Apple filed suit. (The courts decided … Continue reading Apple’s New Strategy Is Their Old Strategy, Only More So
“Apple announces NOTHING at developer conference”. No, seriously, I read it on the internets, so it must be true. You can read it for yourself, here: Apple Announces Nothing at Developer Conference ~ By Paul “Comic Book Guy” Ausick Admittedly, that is just one man’s opinion, and an extremely harsh assessment at that. The consensus … Continue reading Apple Announces Nothing (New)
I have used mobile phones for two decades. I have tried nearly every single platform. I consider myself a good judge of functionality, durability, usability and value. I have spent the past six months using a Windows Phone — a Lumia 1520 — as my primary device. It is big, beautiful, intuitive, powerful. The battery, … Continue reading Why Do All Of You Hate Windows Phone So Much?
I came across a tremendous talk by Steve Jobs on how computers are like “bicycles for the mind”. In this short video, he outlines a report from Scientific American that tested the efficiency of locomotion of different species. Humans didn’t fare well as energy efficient travellers, he pointed out, until Scientific American tested a man … Continue reading Man With a Smartphone
Yesterday, in “Whither Apple Or Wither Apple?” I wrote about Apple’s efforts to steal market share from Android. Today I focus on Apple’s efforts to up-sell their iPhone and iPad customers to the Mac. Continuity At WWDC 2014, Apple introduced the concept of continuity — a slew of new features for OS X that are … Continue reading Up-Selling The Mac
“Whither” means “to what place or state: whither are we bound?” Wither means “dry up; wilt, droop, go limp, fade, perish; shrink, waste away, atrophy.” Following Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC), we now know “whither” Apple is headed. Their base is strong and they seek to expand it by stealing share from Android and … Continue reading Whither Apple Or Wither Apple?
We are still deeply rooted in the first mobile era. However, As I am always looking for trends, I think it is interesting to form some ideas of what the next mobile era might look like. While I think the very far off future will include the decentralization of the modern smartphone experience into other … Continue reading The Next Mobile Era: Digital Identity
A few days before WWDC, my weekly Tech.pinions column focused on my personal wish list for what I’d like to see announced at the conference as a user of Apple products. I thought it would be good to return to that list post-keynote to see which wishes were granted and which weren’t. Here’s a quick … Continue reading Reviewing my WWDC wish list
For more than 30 years, the Wintel consortium ruled the world of personal computers. This consortium was made up of a partnership between Intel and Microsoft joined at the hip when it came to creating PCs. But about three years ago that partnership began to break up. While Intel had been extremely loyal to Microsoft … Continue reading Why Microsoft Should be Worried About Chromebooks
Having attended a large number of Apple events over the years—from new product introductions to WWDC keynotes—I’ve learned to expect impressive demos of new features and new products. In the long run, we often find out that some of those impressive demos turn out to be just as good, if not better, in real-world usage, … Continue reading Apple Drives Vision of Seamless Multi-Device Computing
After reading Ben Thompson’s recent blog post titled “The Net Neutrality Wake Up Call,” I couldn’t help but shake my head a little. This is not a knock on Thompson; his article was well written and his qualitative analysis of the tech industry is exceptional in my opinion. However, it often seems like a strong belief … Continue reading When Worlds Collide
With WWDC coming up next week and many rumors and reports about what we’re likely to see, not the least of which is more detail on the Beats deal, Healthbook and a smart home solution, I thought I’d take a step back from the predictions and simply offer up my wish list for what I’d … Continue reading My Wish List for WWDC
In the days since Microsoft launched the Surface Pro 3, there has, unsurprisingly, been a variety of mixed opinions. While many thoughtful and important points are brought up in articles from Ben Thompson and Tim Bajarin, I’d like to offer an alternative viewpoint defending the Surface’s existence and strategy. Let me make a few points. … Continue reading Defending the Surface Pro 3
A year or so ago, clients first started asking me what I thought of the prospects for Chrome OS. What I told them was this: if you want to know about Chrome’s chances, then find out what Microsoft is up to. After all, it was Microsoft’s missteps that gave Google’s cloud-centric PC platform the gaping … Continue reading Windows vs Chrome: Prospects for the Future
Please allow me to introduce myself… You likely don’t care and would not believe the volume of blog posts, research reports, technical writings and analyst studies I sift through on a daily basis. This is necessary both to stay informed and to re-evaluate my opinions as new facts emerge. I refuse to let my initial reactions … Continue reading The One Where Brian Is Wrong About Everything
