LeEco – Bleeding out

Reply to this post           LeEco could be acquired by one of the BATmen. Despite closing the vast majority of its US operations, LeEco’s troubles are far from over as its cash problems have intensified which I think could lead to its eventual acquisition. Leishi Internet Information & Technology (listed parent of LeEco) held its AGM...

Digital sensors – Eyes and ears.

Reply to this post           Sensors are the eyes and ears of AI. Data is the raw material of artificial intelligence (see here) meaning that will be increasingly critical that the sensors that collect that data are reliable and accurate. Nowhere is this more true than in eHealth where inaccurate data is useless at best and...

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Smartphone hardware – Sticky fingers.

Reply to this post           Fingerprint sensors define the market this year. The problem with covering the whole of the front of a smartphone with glass is that it creates a problem for fingerprint ID on the home button. Samsung got around this by inconveniently locating fingerprint ID on the back of the device ensuring that...

Alphabet vs. EU – Timeslip

Reply to this post           Google has time on its side in Android. I think that it is the remedies that the EU imposes that have the potential to do the real damage as long as they are quickly put in place. I view the fine as almost an irrelevance. Alphabet has been handed a $2.7bn...

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Google vs. Amazon – Battle of the Home pt II.

Reply to this post           Alexa still ahead despite very poor performance. New data suggests that Google Assistant is even more superior to Amazon Alexa than RFM’s tests have suggested, but still Google remains at risk of suffering a Betamax-like defeat (see here). The digital agency, 360i has written a piece of proprietary software aimed at...

Microsoft & Facebook – BFF

Reply to this post           I see Microsoft and Facebook creeping quietly together.  I continue to think that Facebook and Microsoft make very good partners and I see them doing more and more together over the long-term. In addition to building an undersea cable together (see here), Facebook and Microsoft have a long history of collaboration...

Etsy – Red flags.

Reply to this post           Etsy serves as a warning to Uber. The struggles of e-commerce player Etsy is yet another sign how important it is for a network business to have either 60% share or be double the size of its next competitor. This should serve as a warning to Uber. Etsy is an e-commerce...

Snap Inc. – Snap in the box.

Reply to this post           Facebook keeps Snap Inc. in its box. Despite launching in August 2016, Instagram Stories has been extremely successful in mitigating the threat from Snap Inc. as it already has 50% more users than Snapchat. In a blog detailing some feature updates, Facebook has disclosed that Instagram Stories now has over 250m...

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Digital Car – Sitting ducks pt. II

Reply to this post           The best automotive infotainment unit is the one in my pocket A car maker with a future is a car maker that realises how vital its data is and pays the buyers of its vehicles for the right to use it. This also has the added benefit of creating a relationship...

Facebook – Soft target

Reply to this post           Facebook chasing broadcast rather than Netflix or YouTube. Facebook’s move into Media Consumption is well underway but it looks to me to be going after broadcast rather than premium or user-generated content. Facebook has closed a deal for a reality TV show called Last State Standing and is close to doing...

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