Good morning, A special treat today (and Monday): I was able to spend some time with Hugo Barra, Vice President of International for Xiaomi. We had a wide-ranging conversation about Xiaomi’s strategy, their target customer, success in India, how they make money, and accusations that they copy Apple. In fact, it was so much thatSubscribe […]
2015
Daily Update: Notes From the Xiaomi Event, Refining Xiaomi’s Ambition, Additional Notes
Good morning, Hello from Beijing! Today was Xiaomi’s latest announcement and I published a Storify of my live-tweets here. Today’s update is my initial reaction to what was presented. On to the update: Notes from the Xiaomi Event I arrived at the China National Convention Center a little over an hour before the Xiaomi eventSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Cloud First, Jet.com Taking on Amazon, A Teenager’s View on Social Media Follow-Up
Good morning, I’m writing this update on a plane headed to Beijing for tomorrow’s Xiaomi announcement. My plan is to write about the experience of the keynote for tomorrow’s Daily Update, and then hopefully I’ll have a special treat for Friday – stay tuned. In addition, please excuse any delays in response or on theSubscribe […]
Mobile First
Last Friday was the eight-year anniversary of the announcement of the iPhone, the event that began the mobile epoch. It was, though, an Apple rumor that to my mind illustrated just how much the world has changed. Mark Gurman is reporting at 9to5Mac that the next MacBook Air will have a radical redesign. The biggest […]
Daily Update: A Teenager’s View on Social Media and the Social Communications Map
Good morning, As I noted last week, I will be going to Beijing the Wednesday to Friday. As of now I plan on keeping the same posting schedule, but my apologies in advance if there are any delays. In addition, my schedule isn’t yet completely set, so I’m not sure if I will be ableSubscribe […]
Podcast: Exponent Episode 030 – Xiaomi
On the newest episode of Exponent, the podcast I co-host with James Allworth: We discuss Xiaomi’s ambition to own the home, why we’re frustrated with patents, why the West is unfair to the developing world, and what makes China unique. Links Jordan Lewis: Exponent Bingo – Twitter Ben Thompson: Xiaomi’s Ambition – Stratechery Ben Thompson: […]
Daily Update: Peak Google and Car Insurance, Handicapping the Internet of Things
Good morning, I hope this is obvious, but since I did get a question, no, Xiaomi is not paying for my trip next week. I have a media invitation, that’s it. I’m paying for the trip because I think Xiaomi is a big deal and I hope to understand them better, and more importantly, shareSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Amazon and the Opportunity Cost of Losing Focus, Sling TV and The Interview Follow-up, Samsung’s Bad yet Good Earnings
Good morning, I hope you all enjoyed yesterday’s article about Xiaomi, because there is a lot more about the company on the way. James Allworth and I just recorded a podcast that dove deeper into both the company as well as the markets they are competing for, the validity of patents, China’s tortured history andSubscribe […]
Xiaomi’s Ambition
Xiaomi, the Chinese smart phone company that late last month raised $1.1 billion at a $45 billion valuation, sells way more than smartphones: Mi.com boasts over a thousand items, and it’s the third-largest e-commerce site in China. One item it doesn’t sell, though, is a AA battery charger. Only Apple: I clearly remember when this […]
Daily Update: Sling TV, The Interview Makes $15 Million, Roku’s Smart TV Play
Good morning, Tuesdays are when I usually post my big article for the week, but this week’s has been delayed until tomorrow, so a Daily Update it is. And just as good: there were a couple of very interesting announcements yesterday at CES. On to the update: Sling TV From The Verge: What is SlingSubscribe […]