Indian ecosystems – Virgin territory.

Reply to this post           Using Google as a stop gap likely to have a disastrous effect. Many players are using Google as a stop gap in India while they get their own ecosystems ready but this sets a dangerous precedent. I believe that there is a rising danger that the Indian market may end up...

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Sony vs. Microsoft – Generation gap.

Reply to this post           Sony looks to be at risk in the next generation. Sony is continuing to dominate the current generation of gaming consoles, but the user experience needs so much work that Sony must act now. In Europe the PlayStation 4 is scoring market share of 70%-90% while it trades leadership in the...

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Xiaomi – Method in the madness.

Reply to this post           Xiaomi needs to squeeze as much from the Internet as it can. Xiaomi’s move to enter more markets looks like a move to generate as much volume as possible through online sales before it has to move into the traditional channels. In addition to India, Xiaomi is now making a splash...

Samsung Tizen – Policy expired.

Reply to this post           Tizen is an expensive and expired insurance policy. Samsung has announced that it will continue its Tizen program at a variety of price points even though the Z1 appears to have only shipped around 1m units in India. Tizen is an open source platform, which is effectively controlled by Samsung as...

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Google vs. Microsoft – Away game.

Reply to this post           Winning the away game is always the hardest. Google has responded to Microsoft making its Office apps freely available on Android by re-enforcing its branding and style inside its in house Office competitors. I suspect that this is just another step in Google’s long-term strategy to control and brand the experience...

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Microsoft – MS Phone home.

Reply to this post           There are signs that Microsoft may be backing away from phones. Following the executive re-organisation last week, Microsoft’s new mission statement contains enough ambiguities to make me think that it is contemplating getting out of phone hardware. The new mission is to “empower every person and organisation on the planet to...

Spotify – Data Differentiation.

Reply to this post           Music is now incidental to Spotify. Spotify is moving beyond the simple delivery of streaming music in order to keep ahead of its competition. It has added Seed Scientific to its portfolio of data analysis assets that already includes The Echo Nest that Spotify acquired in 2014. Both of these companies...

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BlackBerry Q2 15A – Too much slack

Reply to this post           I struggle to see a recovery at BlackBerry BlackBerry reported weak Q1 15A results as the hardware business continued to drift southwards and the software business was unable to take up the slack, Q1 15A Revenues / EPS were $658m / LOSS $0.05 compared to consensus of $684m / LOSS $0.04....

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Microsoft – Free for all

Reply to this post           Making Windows 10 free is a net benefit. The last remnant of doubt has been removed as Microsoft has confirmed that anyone who wants a free copy of Windows 10 will be able to get one. The only requirement appears to be the installation of the Windows 10 beta version prior...

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Music Streaming – Temporary gravy

Reply to this post           Stop Press. Apple has now reversed its position and will now pay the labels for music streams during the trial period reverting to the percentage model when users convert from trial to paid. I suspect that Taylor Swift will now allow her album 1989 to be streamed by Apple Music. This...