I wanted to share with our readers that I have started a podcast called Cubed with several colleagues I genuinely enjoy chatting with. They are Ben Thompson of stratechery and Benedict Evans. Our goal is to have smart conversations on the industry at large with a bit more emphasis on mobile and strategy. We have … Continue reading The Cubed Podcast
Younger internet users may never have heard of Real Networks. But the Seattle-based company was once a major media pioneer, inventing postage-stamp-sized streaming video back in the days of dial-up connections and creating Rhapsody, the first subscription music service. Real has had a tough few years, surviving on its mobile entertainment and games businesses and … Continue reading A Comeback Product for Not-Dead-Yet Real Networks
Dogs chase cars, but that doesn’t mean they know how to drive. Microsoft is chasing the tablet market, but that doesn’t mean they know how to take control of that market and drive it. Microsoft’s Flawed “Vision” For Tablets I was walking down the street wearing glasses when the prescription ran out. ~ Steven Wright … Continue reading Microsoft Sinks Beneath The Surface
If Steve Jobs was alive I would not need to write this column. He is not, tragically, and yet as I cover Apple, the smartphone industry, and the rapid spread of mobile personal computing throughout the world, I never hear the end of analysts, bloggers — and haters — telling me exactly what would be … Continue reading If Steve Jobs Was Alive What Would Steve Jobs Do?
Let’s file this under the open for discussion category. I have been having discussions of late around disruption theory as it relates to many different parts of the market. There are a number of very important general rules of thumb within disruption theory that are applicable to many markets. The problem is that there are … Continue reading Disrupting Disruption Theory
Apple’s Touch ID fingerprint scanner seems to have fueled an important but ill-informed and ultimately nonsensical debate about biometrics and privacy. The latest example is this muddled editorial in the Sept. 22 New York Times. The Times editorial, and a great deal of other discussion of the issue, errs in confusing two completely different uses of biometric data: … Continue reading Sense and Nonsense About Biometrics
Last weekend my son’s car was broken into. It was in the parlance, a “smash and grab” with the front passenger window smashed and his wallet grabbed. What followed was an interesting lesson in security. Our local police investigated the crime scene and dusted the car for fingerprints, they also noticed some blood splattered on … Continue reading TouchID: risk and reward at the touch of a button
I want to share my experience with the iPhone 5s. The whole package, from the new hardware features to the iOS 7, has provided me with an experience I did not expect. As I started using the 5s I was brought back to that moment when I first started using an iPhone. It is the … Continue reading The iPhone 5s- S is for Superior
Samsung declared that it too will follow in Apple’s footsteps and embrace 64-bit processor designs in their products. I have no doubt that Qualcomm and Nvidia will catch up with equally impressive 64-bit designs. That being said, Qualcomm and Nvidia do not have what Apple does, an operating system. Although Qualcomm and Nvidia will make … Continue reading What the A7 being 64-bit Means for The Competition
If you read the gadget blogs, especially those run by people who focus primarily on a single company, the overwhelming feeling is that Microsoft should just give up the consumer phone market and let Apple and Android duke it out. After all, what good is trying when you only have 4 percent market share I … Continue reading What’s Wrong With the Windows Phone?
In my mind, the key to yesterday is to understand how the iPhone is segmenting and the role the pricing structure plays on the segmentation. Everyone, including myself, was convinced that Apple was going to be more aggressive with the pricing of the iPhone 5c. Now, looking back, it should be obvious that Apple has … Continue reading Understanding The iPhone Pricing and Segmentation
Apple may have done more today to pave the way for the iPhone’s future than any past event. What was announced today was more than a set of new products but a new foundation for the future. First off, this is the first time Apple has shifted from its tried and true model of one … Continue reading Advancing the iPhone
“Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.” ― Maya Angelou I want Windows Phone to succeed. More than that, I want Android to fail. I hate Android. There, I said it. Yes, I am a market analyst, detached, and I have absolutely no stake … Continue reading Windows Phone And Android Hate
It is easy to look at the Microsoft and Nokia deal and be pessimistic. There are no shortage of challenges facing Microsoft going forward as they battle their position of limited relevance in consumer markets and mobility in particular. It is this point of Microsoft’s irrelevance that I want to focus on. This point is … Continue reading Microsoft and Nokia: The Silver Lining
This is part two of a two-part series. Part One looked at the fall of Steve Ballmer and the decline of Microsoft in mobile. Part Two tries to discover why it all happened. Introduction Steve Ballmer was just fired after 13 uninspiring years at Microsoft. A hotly debated question is whether Ballmer failed because he … Continue reading David The Disruptor v. Microsoft The Goliath
Two weeks ago, I penned the Forbes column, “Google’s Motorola Confuses Everyone With Its ‘X8 Computing System.‘ “My intention was not to ridicule or embarrass anyone, but to point out just how important it is to be factual and precise during product launches and communications. Trust me, I have empathy as I have launched hundreds of … Continue reading Motorola’s Confusing “X8 Computing System” Actually Qualcomm and TI Silicon
Not long after Microsoft and Nokia did a deal for Nokia to back Windows Mobile and Microsoft exec Stephen Elop moved over to become its CEO, I mentioned to some of my colleagues that I thought this was a set up. In fact, I wrote a Techpinions piece on Aug 15th, 2011 that literally said … Continue reading A Suspicious Angle to Microsoft’s Acquisition of Nokia
There’s an old military adage, “Reinforce success; never reinforce failure.” By purchasing Nokia’s device business for about $5 billion, Microsoft has just reinforced failure in a big way. It has been three years since Microsoft attempted to reboot its mobile business with Windows Phone 7, two and a half years since the company struck a … Continue reading Microsoft and Nokia: A Strategic Blunder
Do not be misled. Microsoft purchasing (the best of) Nokia — at firesale prices — is a brilliant move. Nokia + Skype + Bing + Office + Outlook + Nokia Maps + Nokia imaging. That is a very powerful proposition. Apple, however, remains at least one step ahead, and iPhone continues destroying and disrupting all in … Continue reading Microsoft Buying Nokia A Great Move. But iPhone And iOS 7 Are Already Set To Remake Mobile Computing Once Again.
One of the many aspects of the technology industry I have to study as an industry analyst is the macro-economic trends. With that in mind, I have been following with great interest media and financial analysts’ discussions about whether a new tech bubble is in the works. I live and work in Silicon Valley so … Continue reading We’ve Seen This Movie Before
The dozens of commentaries on Steve Ballmer’s impending departure nearly all condemn him for Microsoft’s failure in mobile computing during his tenure. It’s certainly true that Microsoft was run over by an iPhone-iPad-Android train in the last few years, but the basic problem was not that the company failed to understand the importance of mobile. … Continue reading The Irony of Microsoft’s Lost Mobile Opportunity
QUESTION: Why is it when birds fly in a “V” shape one side is longer? The answer will be provided, below. Part 1 of 2 Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer is going to retire within the next 12 months. There’s a lot of ground to cover, so let’s get to it. One of the most striking differences … Continue reading Ballmer: The Good, The Indifferent, The Bad and The Analysis
Next week, just before the IFA consumer electronics show opens in Berlin, Samsung is expected to introduce their first smart watch apparently called the Samsung Galaxy Gear. By my count, this will be at least the 14th smart watch introduced in the last 18 months. I have had a chance to work with and review … Continue reading Samsung’s Dangerous Smart Watch Gamble
Television as we know it is doomed and has been for some time. But I thought broadcasters and cable operators would be able to hold off the inevitable for a long time because their business model, antiquated as it is, still produced a mighty stream of profits. I’m not so sure anymore. The decline will … Continue reading TV: A Faster Slow Death
The resiliency of the iPhone in not just the US but global markets as well is truly a marvel. As we will see in some of the charts below, against all odds Apple’s iPhone market share remains steady. I’ve long argued that vendors in the Android ecosystem compete more with each other than with Apple. … Continue reading The Myth of an iPhone Killer [Updated with added chart]
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