Bear with me, I know my premise is ridiculous. Imagine Steve Ballmer was right now the CEO of Apple, with the same set of products and opportunities. Suspend disbelief about cultural clashes, or organizational structure. Presume Ballmer could set the strategy, and that Apple would execute it accordingly. In this scenario Apple would make more […]
2013
C is for Changing My Mind
Yesterday’s article about iPhone 5c pricing prompted a vigorous discussion on Twitter, and I’m changing my mind on a few points (I told you I have strong opinions weakly held!): I was always wavering on the 3G idea: Imagine an LTE iPhone 5C sold to post-pay carriers, and a non-LTE iPhone 5C sold at a […]
C is for Choices
I have to admit, it was a bit of a thrill breaking the news to the western world of the latest iPhone leak: Taiwan's Apple Daily claims to have iPhones 5C and 5S: http://t.co/bAZ8F49Wzn Double flash on 5S, highly scratch-resistant plastic on 5C. — Ben Thompson (@monkbent) August 21, 2013 Still, it really wasn’t anything new […]
The App Store Rainbow
Postulate: The greatest differentiator for iOS is the quality of its apps. That’s the position taken by Benedict Evans in a must-read piece: If total Android engagement moves decisively above iOS, the fact that iOS will remain big will be beside the point – it will move from first to first-equal and then perhaps second […]
BlackBerry – and Nokia’s – Fundamental Failing
In December 2009, while a first-year student at Kellogg, I went to a RIM (now BlackBerry1) recruitment presentation. “Our problem,” the relatively senior fellow said, “is that when I get on a plane, everyone uses a BlackBerry until they close the door. Then they pull out their iPods. We need to make BlackBerry’s the only […]
Amazon’s Dominant Strategy
Jonah Keri, on Mike Trout, the baseball player: “You always look at player comps in this business,” Bane said. “None of our guys wanted to put down the comp that you’d expect in this case, because it’s just too much pressure. We should have done it, though. We should have put down the comp that […]
Rebuilding the World Technology Destroyed
The Washington Post was headed for bankruptcy, and was finally sold for a pittance. Its buyer began his career on Wall Street, only to move into a burgeoning new industry, where he truly made his wealth. The newspaper he bought has a noble history, but will certainly earn losses for years to come. I’m talking […]
The iPad is like the iPod, not the iPhone
Most folks seem to instinctively compare the iPad and the tablet market to the iPhone and smartphone market, and it’s easy to see why. They share the same OS, the same competitor, many of the same apps, and, of course, the same time period – the present. But in reality – and this touches on […]
Mobile Makes Facebook Just an App; That’s Great News
“Strong opinions weakly held” is a core principle of mine, and while I think I’ve demonstrated strong opinions aplenty on this blog, today it’s time to give credence to the “weakly held” part. Specifically, I have been wrong about Facebook. I’ve been a bear about their long-term prospects, and now I am a bull. My […]
Understanding Google
The surest route to befuddlement in the tech industry is comparing a vertical player, like Apple, with a horizontal one, like Google. Vertical players typically monetize through hardware, only serve a subset of users, and any services they provide are exclusive to their devices. Horizontal players, on the other hand, monetize through subscriptions or ads, […]