Magic Leap – The reality gap.

Magic Leap’s developer video reveals the chasm between promise and reality In its latest video (see here), Magic Leap has demonstrated some of the basic characteristics of how to create content in its system but also shown just how far away the experience is from what was promised a few years ago. Magic Leap is a secretive start-up that is...

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Apple – Psychotherapy.

Giannandrea needs to heal Siri’s split mind. • Apple has put John Giannandrea exactly where he belongs where, in my opinion, his first task will be to fix the schizophrenia that plagues Siri that has done nothing but harm to the appeal of Apple’s digital assistant. • John Giannandrea is a Scottish computer scientist who most recently led Google’s Search...

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Microsoft – Office politics.

A device whose sole aim is to advance the adoption of Office. Microsoft has launched a new device in the Surface line called the Surface Go, the sole purpose of which I think is clearly aimed at winning over the younger generation to Office 365. The Microsoft Surface Go is priced at $399, has a 10” HD screen with a...

Amazon – Mad Man.

AI is the weakness in Amazon’s push to take on Google and Facebook. Amazon has made a habit of unsettling entire industries simply by announcing its entrance but when it comes to digital advertising, its limited AI ability will keep it in Google’s shadow for now. However, the same cannot be said for Facebook which I think really struggles with...

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Mobike vs. Ofo – Proxy war

The returns from bike sharing will be made from the data.   Now that Mobike has a strong backer, it is opening the spending spigot that looks certain to crush what is left of the smaller rivals allowing the market to settle down to one with low margins but where the real money will be made from the data that...

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Xiaomi & Samsung – Goodbye blue sky.

Smartphone slowdown sinks all boats.  Xiaomi The omens are ill for when Xiaomi begins trading in Hong Kong on Monday as its shares are trading at an 11% discount to the IPO price in the grey market. To be fair, in the grey market, volumes are low and there is no issuer support meaning that this price action is only...

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Uber – Home Alone

Middle East looks like another exit. Following its ignominious exit from South East Asia, Russia and China, Uber is now in discussion with Careem that I think would effectively see it exit the Middle East. This will further concentrate Uber’s fortunes in USA and Western Europe where the chief rival remains the resurgent Lyft. Uber has said that it is...

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Apple Maps – Wheel engineering

No need to reengineer the wheel. It looks like Apple along with Google and Samsung (see here) has also developed a case of engineering disease as it makes no sense whatsoever these days to build a map from scratch. It is no secret that Apple Maps has not been a stunning success. Outside of California and the US in particular,...

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Snap – Augmented hopes.

Gaming makes more sense than video.   Snap’s beleaguered attempts to move beyond its instant messaging service have taken another turn with a potential move into gaming. Given that the Digital Life segment of gaming is the one segment where there is no dominant operator, Snap has a much better chance of succeeding here than elsewhere where it is up...

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Amazon – Pill popper.

Reply to this post Amazon shakes the ivory towers. Amazon has made its move on the retail pharmacy industry by buying PillPack in a move that could have been thwarted by Walgreens or CVS if they had not stayed locked in their ivory towers. If Walgreens had purchased PillPack itself and run it into the ground, it would still be...

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