App based gaming remains the future of this critical segment. Say what you like about games but nearly one third of all time spent on smartphones is still spent playing games. Gaming is alive and well but it is rapidly shedding the genre of social gaming and returning to its roots in applications With...
There are still too many reasons why this won’t work. Wearable technology is not a new idea; it is just that no one has managed to create any with mass market appeal. Remember the Microsoft SPOT watches from 2003? (Click here if you can’t) Another example is the older generation of the iPod Nano which...
Flexible screens are Samsung’s patch, not Apple’s Apple Patent applications and job filings are an admission of what I have long suspected. Flexible and bendable screens are not just a fad but could define the next generation of form factor in the handset and tablet arena. From the end of 2011 and steadily through...
Apple needs to skip the iPhone 5S and go straight to the 6. To date, the iPhone has managed to hold its position by beating its competitors both in the hardware and in the software user experience. Back in 2007 the iPhone was market leading in terms of hardware but as competitors have caught up...
Google’s interest in WhatsApp is a sign of weakness. WhatsApp has denied that it is in talks with Google with respect to being acquired but that does not mean that discussions have not taken place. Quite to the contrary, I suspect that Google has made a play for the company but been rebuffed...
Dare I hope that Hewlett Packard is turning the corner?. Hewlett Packard’s response to the message sent by its shareholders at the recent AGM encourages me to take a second look. Hewlett Packard has had two main problems to date. First, the lack of any real strategy to change a lumbering hardware maker with...
Home is the right strategy for Facebook to extend its reach. Facebook Home is a software skin that takes over the home screen of an Android device putting Facebook functionality front and centre of everything that the user does. The experience is very communication centric with updates and messages popping up from friends in a...
Tonight’s announcement risks being a big anti-climax. The last time Facebook made a “big announcement” the result was the spectacularly unambitious Facebook Graph Search. What could have been a big move to diversify away from social networking and take on the giants of the internet is nothing more than a better way to use what...
Samsung and Google will end up in a struggle for the user. So far Samsung and Google have been on good terms given the symbiotic nature of their relationship. The Android software has enabled Samsung to tick the software box and to make excellent margins on its hardware designs and innovations. In return, Samsung handsets...
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.
Yahoo! Q1 – Darker horse
Difficult results in display advertising mask the potential. Yahoo! reported disappointing results as display advertising continued to decline despite the remedial actions put in place by the new team. Q1 Revenues / EPS were $1.07bn / $0.35 compared to consensus at $1.10bn / $0.25. Better expense control was the main reason for the EPS...