Thursday, October 25, 2012

Communities Dominate Brands: Nokia Q3 Results.. What can I say, we knew it would be misery all around

I would have preferred not to see Nokia in this bad position. Another nail in the coffin has been the company`s move to sell its headquarters "as part of disposing of its non-core assets"?! and coupled with Q3 results, the picture doesn`t look good at all. For a complete dissection of Q3 numbers and stats, refer to industry specialist Tomi T Ahonen`s: Communities Dominate Brands: Nokia Q3 Results.. What can I say, we knew it would be misery all around:


Thursday, October 11, 2012

Gartner:Lenovo Takes Slight Lead Over HP for No. 1 Global Position

Fresh data released by Gartner revealed new changes/disruptions in the tech market this past week. 

Change Nr. 1: Lenovo overtook HP in worldwide PC shipments for the 1st time in history and grew its market share. The giant HP has lost leadership in this sector, it sold less than Lenovo, though by not too much. Indeed, HP and Lenovo are very close and it is interesting to watch how both companies will respond in the next quarter and in the following  year. If Lenovo maintains the momentum and manages to widen the gap and break ahead, than HP`s life will become even more difficult than  it already is. To cite Gartner, HP is currently restructuring its device business and its main concern is achieving market share whilst holding its margin. What can I say: apart from diversifying its market channels, Lenovo is winning ground on amongst other, margin. 

Change Nr. 2: the PC market continues to decline, its share being eaten up by the tablet and phablet range of products. Gartner estimates a decline of 8% in the third quarter of 2012 and attributes it in part to the arrival of Windows 8 which caused retailers to reduce their inventories in preparation for W8. On a different note, the PC decline is a trend in a fast moving market where more and more mobile devices are competing for the consumers` share of pocket. PC companies are being forced to stay relevant: how they are doing it will define who continues the race and who doesn`t. For detailed info click here.

PS: there is intense speculation on the web that Amazon might be "cooking" its own phone. Opinion: apart from it being a marketing tool and a tremendous data source for its  search algorithms,  I think the success of a future Amazon branded phone also lies in  how Non-Amazon, stand-alone and  innovative will it be... after all, we already have the Kindle.



Tuesday, October 9, 2012

What happened to HTC?

Can anyone tell me what happened to HTC? Last time I checked this brand was releasing killer products and was looking like a shining star on the mobile landscape and now it  reports drop of profits as much as 79% for this past quarter.

 The HTC case has all the characteristics of a success story: from a manufacturer for other brands to breaking through with innovative products under its own  brand, HTC climbed steadily and fast. The partnership with China Mobile, China`s biggest mobile operator, the overcoming of grandpa Nokia in market share and becoming the 3rd  biggest smartphone producer - achievements that many players in the mobile industry would only wish for.

But it looks like the momentum is slowly fading away. Maybe the company is still adjusting with its 2011 acquisitions, or maybe releasing new models with the Windows OS was not such a good idea considering its  popularity versus the Android OS.

It doesn`t seem to make sense: why would you switch to Windows when Android is so popular and growing and when you yourself shared this popularity by being one of the pioneers of the Android-based smartphones, as BBC puts it?

For current slowdown, critics cite the lack of what made HTC a force to reckon with in the first place: sharp innovation and design and new hit models to still the spot away from Apple and Samsung.

Others blame a weak mobile system with limited partners and channels to market. Whatever the cause is, it needs to be acted upon fast, if not, it would be a shame to witness such potential go to market obscurity and waste.


BBC News - HTC profits slide 79% as competition stiffens:

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Revisiting Facebook

I recall when I first heard about Facebook. I was still in college, and back then, the most popular social platform  was Hi5 or something similar. Soon though the question "Are you on Hi5?" was replaced with "Are you on Facebook?". One of my friends wrote an article in the student newspaper about this new, addictive social site.The piece proved popular, just like the network.  Facebook was taking over Europe and over our social lives.
Some years down the road, we saw Facebook going through privacy issues, then through the public offering and all the problems that came with that. If you ask me whether I spend 100$ on products advertised on the platform, the answer is "no".  If you ask my close Facebook friends the same question, the answer remains "no". All in all, I begun to spend  less and less time on the platform, simply because I stopped having so much free time as I was out of college and in the professional world. 
But then sometimes life reshuffles your playlist and after a good song comes a bad one and you turn to your support network: family, friends, good acquaintances. And it also turns out that they are now mostly all on Facebook. I found myself looking at my 300+ friend list, remembering good times, picking out some names, getting their latest updates,  and writing a couple of messages. 
All I want to say is that I`ll have to think twice about deleting my Facebook account but from reasons other than some monetary value. 

In The War To Build The Biggest Mobile Gaming Platform, Japan’s GREE Courts Indies | TechCrunch

In The War To Build The Biggest Mobile Gaming Platform, Japan’s GREE Courts Indies | TechCrunch:

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