Amazon Echo Expands, The Nest Failure, Microsoft and Slack

There are a lot of useful lessons to draw from Amazon Echo’s early success, particularly when placed in contrast to Google’s Nest. Microsoft should pay heed if in fact they had a chance to buy Slack.

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 […]

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: Looking Forward to CES, Looking Ahead to 2015, Apple and the Functional High Ground

Good morning, Happy New Year! It’s great to get back into the flow of things. Let’s get on with it! Looking Forward to CES It’s fun to rag on CES, particularly during the 00’s when Apple’s MacWorld keynote announcements would overshadow the going-ons in Vegas, at least from a news cycle perspective. It wasn’t justSubscribe […]

Daily Update: The Uber Problem, Samsung’s Next Act, Nokia is Back!

Good morning, With regards to yesterday’s note on the web not being dead, John Gruber wrote a great post called Native Apps are Part of the Web; I also forgot that I wrote a guest post earlier this year defending the web for writers. Still, though, it doesn’t really matter what any of us think:Subscribe […]