In the metaverse, Facebook has a head start. The release of an app by Netflix for the Oculus Quest will go almost unnoticed but it is highly significant because Netflix will be a contender in the metaverse when it comes, and it is indicating which player it currently thinks is in the lead. Netflix has released a game called Eden...
Surface gets experimental. Alongside a series of expected and needed upgrades was one of the wackiest ideas I have seen for a portable computer but missing was a folding screen and an answer to Apple’s move to computing on Arm. Microsoft held its launch event where it updated the Surface Pro, the Duo, the Laptop, the Go. First, Surface Laptop...
A good use case for a limited technology I have long held the view that under certain circumstances, today’s AI can improve performance to a superhuman level, and I think that the proposition of Aira Technologies, (see here) a small start-up, is one of them. Artificial Intelligence is often heralded as the greatest thing since sliced bread and in some...
Didi is in desperate peril. Didi Global CEO and founder Jean Liu is hoping that making an exit is going to save her company, but all of the evidence points towards a far bleaker outcome. Sources at Reuters (see here) are claiming that Jean Liu is planning her exit and that she has advised colleagues who followed her to Didi...
The sword is falling fast One look at the nomination and award list for the prestigious Emmy Awards demonstrates that the streaming services are now fully in the driving seat meaning with the exception of live sports, it is almost game over for the cable companies. It is Emmy season again and thanks to the pandemic, the streaming companies have...
A move that might actually benefit China. The forced opening up of the Chinese digital ecosystems forces the incompatible systems to work together which will make the overall opportunity for all players that much larger. Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, Baidu, NetEase, Huawei, and Xiaomi were all summoned to a meeting at the Ministry of Industry and IT where presumably they received...
Half of Didi’s opportunity has already been lost. Didi appears to have lost 30% of its user base (and 50% of its opportunity) since the crackdown on its business which combined with the state backing one of its rivals opens the possibility that Beijing intends to drive Didi out of business. Aurora mobile is a provider of big data solutions...
Apple takes no risks with its launches. The event is back to its usual time but while the production quality of the event was better than ever, the products themselves only inched forward which I think will not have users rushing out to replace the devices they purchased last year or even the year before. This, of course, is caveated...
The state seals Ant Group’s fate. Further interventions into Ant group by the regulator ensure that the businesses will be less nimble, less efficient, and less innovative but more importantly, state-controlled with the state having full access to all of the financial data of Chinese citizens. This is bad news for the fintech sector in China which will now have...
Richard is founder, owner of research company, Radio Free Mobile. He has 16 years of experience working in sell side equity research. During his 11 year tenure at Nomura Securities, he focused on the equity coverage of the Global Technology sector.
Crypto – The new outlaw
China kills another industry. China has outlawed cryptocurrencies in a move that seeks to protect the central government’s control of the financial system but will ensure that all of the innovation in this ground-breaking sector goes overseas and benefits other countries. In a joint statement on Friday, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) in conjunction with nine other regulatory agencies...