Cortana offers more dead than alive. With usage at rock bottom and its Cortana leader resigned, Microsoft is clearly distancing itself and its products from the hapless Cortana which now look certain to occupy a plot in the digital assistant graveyard. Microsoft held a media event where Satya Nadella extolled the virtue of Cortana, but it is clear from his...
Wearables to remain fossilised. Google has purchased the right to use and disseminate core IP from Fossil for $40m (stoking rumours of a Pixel Watch) but I can’t see anything that Fossil has that will allow Google to close the gap on Apple. Smartwatches are the most important sub-segment of the endlessly disappointing wearables segment where Apple clearly leads the...
Google i/o shaping up to be a snooze. The next version of Android has leaked ahead of the usual developer preview and it looks to me like innovation in Android has ground to a halt, meaning that all the action will be found in Google’s own services. Android Q is the next version of Android and its main feature looks...
ByteDance signals the Chinese IPO window may be closing. On top of its star service being hit with draconian regulations (see here) which will damage long-term prospects, the Chinese economy also seems to have done some damage to ByteDance’s financial performance raising questions over its valuation and going public. At its last fundraising in October 2018, ByteDance indicated that 2018...
A losing strategy. More draconian regulations are falling upon the Chinese ecosystems that I think will kill innovation, raise costs and severely hamper China’s ambitions to lead the world in digital services. First, it was games (see here) but now platforms that host user-generated video content (like ByteDance’s TikTok) will be responsible for any inappropriate content posted by their users....
Interesting offerings that slipped through the cracks. Real wireless power Thanks to Apple, wireless charging using the Qi standard is now everywhere, but far more interesting is the possibility to charge devices from a distance. There are a series of companies working on this all of whom have a slightly different way to address the issue including Energous, Powercast, Ossia...
Xiaomi finally in range. The noise and bustle of CES have distracted many commentators from the dreadful performance at Xiaomi which is now starting to be properly priced into the share price. Over the last few sessions Xiaomi has lost nearly 17% of its value (41.4% since IPO and 53.7% since its high on 18th July 2018) as market concerns...
Artificial Intelligence: La-La Land. The most abused term award at CES 2019 goes to artificial intelligence where almost everyone is using it but almost no one seems to know what it means. Senior execs are looking rather foolish at their press conferences having been told by their PR and marketing departments to ensure that they claim to use AI when,...
Autonomous hype becomes more realistic. Planes, yachts & automobiles. CES 2019 is even more about vehicles than it ever has been before but to the industry’s credit, there is more reality and less hype than last year. The best example of this is to be found in autonomous driving where numerous players have reigned in their expectations stating that they...
Richard is founder, owner of research company, Radio Free Mobile. He has 16 years of experience working in sell side equity research. During his 11 year tenure at Nomura Securities, he focused on the equity coverage of the Global Technology sector.
Voice Assistants – All about auto
Integration with the vehicle is essential A recent survey has found that voice assistants are quite widely used in the vehicle, but I think that until they are properly integrated, they will be little more than an occasionally useful gimmick. Voicebot.ai’s most recent survey (see here) and here) has found that 117m US adults have tried a voice assistant in...