2013 could see a final settlement between the two companies where Samsung would likely pay royalties to Apple. The legal wrangling between Apple and Samsung is going nowhere other than to enrich their respective legal teams. In the early days it looked like Apple really had Samsung on the ropes with an emphatic victory in...
Android begins to lose share to Microsoft. In terms of unit growth, the best is probably over for smartphones and that is being used as a sign that things are beginning to settle down. However, to me the reality looks very different. This is because Android looks like the default choice for a smartphone user...
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...
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...