MCX is likely to fail unless something changes. The combined power of Apple and the major credit card companies is likely to exert so much pressure on MCX that something will have to change. Retailers have problems with credit cards. The credit card companies charge them a fee every time a card is used which...
Amazon Echo does nothing to address the big issues. As long as Echo is a great Bluetooth speaker it is unlikely to be nearly as big a disaster as the Fire phone. Amazon has initiated its latest experiment with the consumer with the launch of the Amazon Echo which is basically a Bluetooth speaker with...
Microsoft moves to cement Office’s dominance. Microsoft is moving to tighten its grip on the Digital Work ecosystem before anyone else can really get a decent foothold. Digital Work is the professional equivalent of Digital Life and describes the digital activities undertaken by users in the workplace and is measured by the amount of time...
Apple joins long-suffering Microsoft as a target for viruses. Apple has a difficult time ahead of it as I suspect that it is not best prepared to deal with the increasing number of attacks being aimed at its systems. For years, Apple has been virus-free for no other reason than the hackers could not be...
LG trades margin upside for safety. LG has struck a patent deal with Google which looks to be almost exactly the same as the deal struck with Samsung on 27th January 2014. I continue to believe that this deal was a huge strategic blunder for Samsung (see here) but in LG’s case there is little...
There is very little left for investors at $45bn. If Xiaomi can raise money at a valuation of $40bn-$50bn, this will be its greatest achievement to date. Now that Xiaomi is the leader in the Chinese smartphone market, it is beginning to turn its eye to other potentially huge markets such as India and Russia....
The journey to ecosystem remains very hard. Sony reported a difficult set of results but there were no real surprises. Q2 14A Revenues / operating profits were slightly better than forecast at JPY 1,902bn / LOSS JPY 85.6bn compared to consensus at JPY 1,812bn / LOSS JPY 62.7bn. The main reason for the better than...
Microsoft’s Band is another shot at the ecosystem. The new Microsoft Band is not much to look at but if it is robust and works as well as promised, then it could see some traction. Microsoft Band is the latest is a slew of products that promise to monitor the key aspects of user’s daily...
Samsung does not seem to have any idea what to do. Samsung reported awful Q3 14A results as profitability in the handset business collapsed far below RFM’s bearish expectations. Q3 14A Revenues and operating profit were KRW47.45tn / KRW4.06tn compared to RFM forecasts at KRW49.86tn / KRW6.84tn. The biggest problem was the IT and Mobile...
Richard is founder, owner of research company, Radio Free Mobile. He has 16 years of experience working in sell side equity research. During his 11 year tenure at Nomura Securities, he focused on the equity coverage of the Global Technology sector.
Twitter – Hopes and dreams
Far more changes are required to meet the long term goals. Twitter made some bold promises at its analyst day giving investors some confidence and sending the shares up 7%. Firstly, a series of product announcements aimed at increasing engagement for logged-on users and casual visitors that include: Instant timeline. Gives new users and casual...