Founder exits are good news. The founders of Instagram are following the founder of WhatsApp in exiting Facebook which, in my opinion, is some of the best news Facebook has had in this torrid year. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger are leaving Facebook as a result of increasing pressure from Facebook to become more tightly integrated with the mothership. This...
Paying cash would open Pandora’s box. Sirius XM has agreed to buy Pandora in a move the ensures Pandora’s long-term survival as well as gives Sirius XM an insurance policy should its existing business fail to survive the automotive transition to digital. Sirius XM will pay $3.5bn in shares to acquire Pandora whose existing shareholders will own 8.6% of the...
Some new clothes but the same old Alexa underneath. Amazon has launched a seemingly endless array of new Alexa-enabled devices and updates which are clearly aimed at keeping the ever threatening Google Assistant at bay. Amazon launched no less than 12 new pieces of hardware, some which updated older versions, making them look more like Google’s Home products as well...
Google throws down the gauntlet to HERE and TomTom. The arrival of Android Automotive into the vehicle in the volume segment (Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi) is a watershed moment for the automotive mapping industry as I think that it must now prove why Google Maps is not good enough for vehicle-based navigation. Today, there are really only two viable contenders to supply...
The increasingly vexing software problem. John Deere has been locked in a battle with its customers (farmers) for several years over farmer’s rights to repair and modify their vehicles which highlights, more than ever, that the value in vehicles will soon virtually all be in software. Furthermore, it is a concern that those involved in representing the interests of users...
30% of something is better than 100% of nothing. The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance has signed a deal (see here) with Google that I think will see it give up 70% of its potential digital revenue and all of its digital differentiation in return for a higher probability that it will at least get something. From 2021, the alliance expects to debut...
All looks downhill from here. The 70th Emmy Awards are showing that the premium streaming services are making most of the quality entertainment these days which is only likely to accelerate cord cutting by USA consumers. Over-the-air (OTA) transmission will be further boosted by this trend (see here). Netflix topped the list for the first time with 23 awards, of...
Google still has the edge. The latest data shows that Amazon remains ahead in terms of users, but Google is closing the gap when it comes to shipments and is still far superior when it comes to performance and overall usage. Data from Voicebot.ai (see here) suggests that despite losing share in shipments, Amazon remains well ahead in terms of...
BMW plays right into Google’s hands. BMW is the latest company to jump on the digital assistant bandwagon but it has put a lot more thought into its product which may see traction as long BMW resist the temptation to charge for the service. The assistant will debut from March 2019 in models that use BMW OS 7.0 and above...
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.
Sony & Fortnite– Gritted teeth.
Sony gives in not a moment too soon. Sony has backtracked on its decision not to allow cross-platform play in Fortnite in a move that hopefully signals a change in attitude that may help it to keep its dominant position in console gaming There is no question that Sony has utterly dominated the current generation of gaming consoles. It did...