Understanding Users
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Surface Studio, Nintendo Switch, and Niche Strategies
Microsoft’s Surface Studio and Nintendo’s Switch are exciting products because unlike previous failures, they start with the assumption that smartphones matter most
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Nobody Wants Twitter, VMware Cloud on AWS, Amazon Convenience Stores and Amazon Music Unlimited
Unsurprisingly, no one wants to buy Twitter, which will likely muddle long. Then, Amazon’s deal with VMWare makes a ton of sense for Amazon in particular; the company is also experimenting with convenience stores and music subscriptions.
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Oracle’s Cloudy Future
Larry Ellison has declared that Oracle is a cloud company, but their customer offering seems more suited to the world that was.
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Uber’s Problematic Google Deal, Lyft’s Sales Pitch, Twitter’s Live Hail Mary
Uber took a shortcut with Google two years ago and are paying the price today, even if the wound is only temporary. Meanwhile, Lyft is costing Uber money but not strategic positioning, and seem to be marketing themselves to acquirers. Plus, mourning the end of what Twitter could be (and no, the NFL didn’t help).
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Apple Watch = Health and Fitness; Apple’s Shifting Strategy; Beyond the iPhone, Continued
The Apple Watch event was on the surface about focusing on health and fitness. However, I also think it signified a shift in focus and a much clearer path to the future for Apple.
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Samsung “Recalls” Galaxy Note 7, Fitbit Updates Fitness Trackers, Apple to Repatriate Profits?
Samsung seems to have handled the exploding Note 7 as well as they could have, Fitbit releases new products that raise questions about Apple Watch pricing, and a follow-up on Apple’s tax mess
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Amazon’s Overwhelming Leverage, P&G Scaling Back Targeted Facebook Ads, Facebook Earnings
In case I wasn’t clear in yesterday’s article, Walmart really has no chance to catch Amazon in e-commerce. Then, the news that P&G will reduce targeting isn’t a surprise, but it’s not necessarily that much of a problem for Facebook. Plus, notes on Facebook’s earnings.