Good morning, Yesterday I wrote about P&G’s recent decision to reduce its brands from nearly 200 to less than 100. While the easy takeaway is to talk about focus and bloat, I actually think that there is a tech story here as well. After all, lots of brands made a lot of sense in theSubscribe […]
Daily Update: Businesses Not Apps Follow-up, Mobile IE to Support Webkit Prefixes, LinkedIn Beats
Good morning, I wrote a different type of article yesterday – see below – that took a lot more time and effort than many of the other things I have written. The reason I mention that is not because it has anything to do with the article – it doesn’t – but rather to noteSubscribe […]
Pleco: Building a Business, not an App
This past week has not been the first outbreak of independent developer angst over the app store, but it feels like it has been one of the more intense. The pump was primed by the news that Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is on pace to make $200 million this year, news that was in stark contrast […]
Smartphone Truths and Samsung’s Inevitable Decline
For me, anyway, the most surprising thing about Samsung’s disappointing earnings was just how surprised many folks seemed to be. The smartphone market is a massive one, but also rather predictable if you keep just a few key things in mind: Everyone will own a smartphone – I don’t think this is controversial, but it’s […]
Daily Update: Google I/O – Analysis on Every Announcement
Good morning, It’s the day after the Google I/O keynote, and I believe the actual presentation has concluded but I really should check to make sure… In all seriousness, this year’s presentation was actually shorter than last year’s, but no less ambitious. Like I did after WWDC, I’m going to spend this update running throughSubscribe […]
It’s Time to Kill Surface
“The question that needs to be asked and answered is why hardware.” To Satya Nadella’s credit, he provided not just the answer, but the question as well. And, looked at narrowly, there were good things seen – and not seen – at Microsoft’s Surface event. Having clearly failed as a mass market device, it makes […]
Windows 8 and the Cost of Complexity
PCs just suffered their worse quarter ever. From the WSJ: World-wide PC shipments fell 10% last year, research firms Gartner Inc. and IDC said Thursday, the worst-ever sales slump for the industry. Both companies have been tracking personal computer sales since the 1980s. Computer makers have been hurt as consumers and businesses spend more time […]
Promotion in the App Store
Two interesting articles last week, better together. First came TheInformation’s1 maiden piece about How Apple Gives Some Apps an Edge (subscription required): Being featured [in the App Store] can be a developer’s jackpot. Developers say that it could cost them between $100,000 and $300,000 in marketing to buy as many downloads as they receive from […]
Open Source Apps
I’m a bit late to the most recent flareup around app store pricing – it’s been a busy week of traveling – but it’s worth noting that the trend towards free is basically inevitable and the expected result in a functioning market. To put it another way, apps want to be free just like apples […]
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 […]