Samsung consolidates its handset gains with bendable and foldable displays. In a commoditising market where Samsung has no ecosystem with which to differentiate, this is its ace in the hole. Bendable displays are made possible using RGB OLED on a plastic backed substrate. Plastic-backed screens also have the advantage of making the display much thinner...
Prediction 1: Integration of applications on mobile devices starts to affect user purchase decisions. When one looks at where the differentiators are in mobile devices, much has changed over the last sevral years. I see four areas where differentiation can occur: hardware, user interface, applications and ecosystem. Apple has blazed a trail which everyone else...
Anti-tracking spells trouble for internet economics but social networks should remain immune. User stubbornness over privacy threatens that which they hold most dear: Free internet. Everyone loves Google’s many applications and Android because they work well but mostly because they are free. There are a great many other examples. Free is the great myth that...
The clipping of Samsung’s wings by the EU clearly shows the problems associated with prosecuting standard essential IPR. Samsung announced yesterday (Dec 18th 2012) that it was withdrawing from all of its actions against Apple in Germany that were seeking an injunction as a remedy for the infringement of its standard essential IPR. It is...
Finally, Samsung’s council has pulled its finger out, producing a result worthy of its reputation. It has all been downhill for Apple since its decisive win over Samsung in August and this latest ruling plumbs new lows. Following the hearing on December 6th, injunctive relief has been denied to Apple on the infringing Samsung...
Finally an innovation from Dell but it needs to be made available to the right customer. For the last few years Dell has appeared to randomly make acquisitions in an attempt to stave off the ravages of hardware commoditisation by branching out into software. To date this hasn’t helped much as the problems that the...
Google map’s return to iOS heralds the irrelevance of Apple maps. It will have been with gritted teeth that Apple allowed Google Maps to return to iOS. Not only has Google brought the world’s best map application back to iOS, but it has also released an SDK (Software Development Kit) that will allow the makers...
Microsoft has a commanding position in the market for PC software but it cannot really afford to antagonise its partners. By making its own hardware, Microsoft risks doing exactly that but the slow take off of Windows 8 appears to be forcing its hand. I have long held the view that the main reason for...
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.
2013 – The RFM Top 5
I see software and display technology having the greatest impact on an industry that’s in for another bumpy year. I will explore each of the top 5 in the coming 5 days. 1. Integration of applications starts to affect user purchase decisions Every man and his dog offers a graphically rich user experience with cool...