Google – Only one out.

Reply to this post           Not ready to do what it needs most. Google will hold its annual developer this week where it will show off its latest version of Android among its other ideas aimed to keep its ecosystem thriving. Unfortunately, I don’t think that Google is ready to do the one thing that it...

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Apple and Didi – Catch a ride

Reply to this post           Apple’s investment looks more financial than strategic. Apple has agreed to invest $1bn in Didi Chuxing (formerly Didi Kuaidi) in a move that I think has nothing whatsoever to do with its own efforts to design and build a vehicle (see here). Didi Chuxing is the result of a merger of...

Palantir – Success victim.

Reply to this post           Palantir’s silence will only make matters worse. Palantir is a very secretive company but the recent negative press raises valid points that need to be addressed if the gadflies are to be swatted into silence. A recent article on Buzzfeed took a look at Palantir coming to the conclusion that all...

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Oracle vs. Google – The Merry-go-round.

Reply to this post           I think Google will end up paying less than $1bn. Google and Oracle are at it again with Oracle asking for up to $9bn of damages as a result of Google’s alleged copyright infringement of the Java programming language. Normally this would be quite straight forward but where it gets complicated...

HTC Q1 16A – Family silver.

Reply to this post           HTC is selling the family silver to stay alive. HTC reported dreadful Q1 16A results as EBIT losses ballooned to 32% of sales while revenues fell 36% YoY and NT$5.1bn (37% of sales) of cash from operations was burned. HTC has continued to lose market share triggering the classic handset death...

GoPro – Needs a hero pt II.

Reply to this post           I think GoPro will end up being acquired. The difference between Fitbit and GoPro is that Fitbit has understood that the hardware is becoming irrelevant whereas GoPro has yet to understand this crucial fact. GoPro produced a reasonable set of results relative to substantially reduced expectations, but went on to delay...

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Alibaba FQ4 15A – Ecosystem investor

Reply to this post           E-commerce powerhouse fuels ecosystem investments. Alibaba reported good FQ4 15A results but sent the clear message that would be ramping up investments in its fledgling ecosystem. FQ4 15A revenues / EBIT were RMB24.2bn / RMB5.1bn nicely ahead of consensus at RMB23.6bn / RMB4.6bn. Its Chinese e-commerce platforms Tmall (B2C) and Taobao...

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Fitbit Q1 16A – Forced hand.

Reply to this post           Fitbit is being forced to spend to stay ahead. Fitbit reported good Q1 16A results but cut guidance in order to ramp up spending placing unrealistic expectations of profitability in H2 2016. This is particularly worrying as there are clear signs that commoditisation is forcing the company to increase spending, hitting...

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Autonomous Auto – Men and dogs

Reply to this post           I see a shake out with only a handful surviving.  Just as in 2011 when every man and his dog was building an app store, now everyone is trying to build an autonomous vehicle. Just as it was with app stores and every other technology craze before it, only a very...

Android Security – Culture vulture

Reply to this post           Security issues highlight more pressing problems.  Google is trying hard to fix the endemic security issues that continue to plague Android devices but unfortunately it is making almost no progress. Since August 2015, Google has been releasing monthly security updates to address the security flaws but there are two big problems....

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