Radio Free Mobile is taking a short break. Daily commentary will resume on October 28th.
Goodbye blue sky. Softbank needs to take a good hard look at its processes as the valuation that it is prepared to pay for WeWork has fallen by 83% in a matter of weeks despite no fundamental change in the business outlook for WeWork. Softbank looks set to bail out WeWork in a deal that will see it inject a...
Airbnb is not WeWork. Airbnb is being tarred with the WeWork, Uber and Lyft brush, but a closer look reveals a company that has already proved that it can make money. Whether the company is worth the $31bn it was valued at when it last raised money is a story for another day, but what is clear is that it...
Vested interests sink Libra. There are certainly regulatory issues that need to be addressed with Facebook’s or any digital currency, but I suspect that the main reason for Libra’s failure is the protection of vested interests. The banking system as it exists to today is not fit for purpose. Despite massive consumer digitisation, it is still slow, overly bureaucratic, expensive...
Nice innovations but virtually no buyers. Google held a fairly subdued affair where it launched a new smartphone, earbuds, Chromebook and a smart home offering. The AI runs everything mantra has certainly been toned down this year as I expect it didn’t help volumes last year which remained pitiful. Instead, Google focused on the functionality of the new devices that...
Good and bad news for OEMs. Android Automotive has finally made it onto the Volvo XC40 marking Android Automotive’s arrival into the mainstream but it’s only the electric version supporting my view that OEMs have a little time to get their houses in order. Audi and Volvo announced their intention to use Android Automotive in 2017 and promises were made...
No change in technology outlook. The USA and China came to a very preliminary agreement on Friday which worked out better for China (in Alastair Newton’s opinion see attached) but did not address Huawei or the other technology issues meaning that the technology rivalry remains very much alive. By far the most important measure is the suspension of any further...
At least Dyson didn’t try and make his C5. As I suspected (see here), high margin vacuum cleaners, fans and air purifiers are much easier to make than electric vehicles which has resulted in Dyson pulling the plug on its ambitious plans to invest $3.1bn in the development of an electric vehicle. Dyson is a manufacturer of highly-priced consumer goods...
Waymo does not want to be beaten by Yandex. Waymo is removing drivers in its commercial autonomous fleet just in time to be on par with Yandex which is about to do the same at two sites in Russia. Waymo has announced to participants in its Arizona pilot program that fully driverless vehicles will soon be available for rides in...
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.
Google – The long tail.
Better search but not assistant. Google is going to get even better at search which will improve its relevance with users and increase its dominance, but it won’t help in the struggle with Amazon for the smart home Google has announced the launch of a major revision to its search engine which sees it improve its relevance in the long...