Essential Products Inc. – What’s essential?

Reply to this post           Something must-have has to come out of the bag at launch.  Essential Products Inc. is the latest in a long line of protagonists which is aiming to have a crack at the high end of the handset market and while it knows where it should compete, I am not convinced that...

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Xiaomi – State of the nation

Reply to this post           Valuation lifted to $5bn but still 89% below last raise.  Xiaomi has supplied some details of its performance for 2016 but reading between the lines implies that it is pinning all of its hopes for 2017 on its ecosystem devices outside of phones. There is no doubt that things were tough...

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Alibaba – Shopaholic

Reply to this post           The woeful offline experience offers a real opportunity.  It looks like Alibaba is about to take a leap into the offline world as it is the lead contender to buy a struggling retail chain in China for $2.6bn. The company in question is In Time Retail Group which operates 29 department...

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Sonos – Sounds of sameness pt. II

Reply to this post           I do not see the boldness required to save Sonos  Sonos has announced a change in leadership with its 14 year veteran CEO / founder John MacFarlane handing over the reigns to President Patrick Spence who joined Sonos in 2012 as COO. Patrick Spence was previously with BlackBerry in a sales...

Alphabet – Great thrall of India

Reply to this post           Africa warning as India falls into Google’s thrall.  Google is moving consolidate its growing grip on the Indian market and unless rivals act quickly, there will soon be nothing left. Furthermore, Google’s tactics in India is a sign of what it is to come in Africa providing a warning for those...

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CES Day 1/2 – Winners and losers.

Reply to this post           Winners Amazon. In my mind, the star of CES 2017 is Amazon which is beginning to show signs of doing to Google what VHS did to Betamax. Betamax was a vastly superior technology but a slick marketing campaign by JVC ensured that VHS was adopted and Betamax struggled to remain relevant....

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CES Day 0 – Square one.

Reply to this post           IoT – everywhere and nowhere. With the press cycle already revved-up well before the official opening of CES, almost everything that is on show is a known device, tool, utensil or appliance that can now work with a smartphone. However, this is pretty much what we saw last year and it...

HERE – Pole position.

Reply to this post           HERE is closing the gap to Google with the Chinese and Intel joining up.  HERE gets one over on Google by filling the biggest hole in its portfolio with the formation of a strategic partnership with NavInfo to provide maps and services into the Chinese market. It has also announced a...

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RFM 2017 – Top 5.

Reply to this post           Artificial Intelligence.  AI is likely to be the most important theme in the technology sector this year. This is because AI could become a major differentiator in determining which Digital Life services are the best and therefore preferred and paid for by consumers. AI will also underpin the autonomy of any...

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Seasons Greetings – Back for CES.

          Radio Free Mobile is hanging up the microphone for the season and will return for CES in January.  RFM wishes all of its readers compliments of the season and a happy new year. 

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