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Huawei launched its latest smartphones today, the Mate 20 and the Mate 20 Pro; and while we don’t usually focus on a single product launch in a blog, this one is worth the attention for a couple of reasons. Huawei has managed to upstage the typical flagship smartphones with this latest launch; and the U.S. market will probably not even notice, despite the fact that this is a major smartphone launch from the second largest smartphone manufacturer worldwide.
We’ve entered the time of year when the latest and greatest smartphones are revealed, just in time for the upcoming holiday season. And, as usual, we’re going to be seeing some pretty neat enhancements in power management and camera specs. But… we’ve all been saying that for years.
Last week, under the shadow of a dozen new Echo devices, Amazon continued their pursuit to redefine TV. The latest product launch expanded the Echo device ecosystem deeper into the home with new speakers, a plug, clock, microwave, and other voice-enabled gadgets. Further, the all new Fire TV Recast device is aimed at routing a larger portion of consumers TV viewing time through Amazon’s ecosystem of hardware and services.
Yesterday Amazon unleashed a tidal wave of new products, from clocks and microwaves, to an in-car Echo, and a bevy of music devices. But what is most interesting is likely not the overwhelming quantity or specifics of every item, but the clear path Amazon continues to take in both owning and partnering within its ecosystems.
The refrigerator demo was going well. The combination of cameras inside the fridge and artificial intelligence (AI) metaphorically wrapped around each item meant the external screen we were looking at not only showed what was inside, but also tagged each item with its appropriate food category. The demonstrator looked relieved and, in a moment of candid honesty, said, “Phew. Earlier the fridge labeled that broccoli as a peach and the bread as a watermelon.”
The smartwatch has undergone an evolution over the last several years, and with increased support and features, it’s becoming more desirable to a broader range of consumers. Here we take a look at who’s buying, use cases, and what’s next.
Mobile payment solutions are struggling to take off in the US market. There are lessons to be learned from China… and from Starbucks in the local market.
It’s been a long dance between Sprint and T-Mobile, but it looks like fate has finally had her way. The two companies announced on Sunday that they will, after all, merge into one venture, with T-Mobile looking like it is firmly in control. That’s significant for a number of reasons, with the most important being that T-Mobile has re-imagined the mobile market, driving service innovation and growth, while Sprint has a terrible reputation for managing mergers (Nextel anyone?). Of course, this deal still needs to get the blessing of both the FCC and the DoJ; and consumer advocacy groups will likely be screaming from the rooftops about how this merger could drive consumer prices upwards due to less competition, leading to potential challenges.
Last week, SpaceX received permission from the FCC to use spectrum to create a satellite-based broadband service known as Starlink. I can’t help but think that the timing of the deal was quite perfect – as SpaceX talked about superfast broadband from space, China’s old space station, the Tiangong-1, was hurtling out of control towards Earth, reminding us that this space stuff is not that easy, and doesn’t stay up there forever.
Networks, providers, and consumers are touting their vision of TVs future and it’s not as straight forwards as the migration from broadcast to cable in the 80s. Traditional cable providers are investing in advanced set-top boxes that integrate apps such as Netflix, virtual MVPD user interfaces are seamlessly bridging the in-home and mobile experience, TV networks are going direct-to-consumer, and viewers are subscribing to unique combinations of services to fit their needs. I’m often asked “which distribution model will win,” a question beached in sound, but traditional, thinking...