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Friday Assorted Links

September 18, 2015

1. Apple Acquires Mapsense, a Mapping Visualization Startup

2. Samsung to mass produce transparent displays for home electronics products

Samsung is also prepping to display new products at CES 2016 that include devices with transparent displays, the reports noted.

3. MediaTek chipsets power new Amazon devices

4. Vehicles may contain as many as 10 cameras when the age of self-driving cars arrive  (Thanks to Vladimir Koifman, who linked to this on Image Sensor World.)

5. Tesla signs another deal with a company developing a lithium mine

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Filed Under: Amazon, Apple, Assorted Links, Cars, Display, Maps, MediaTek, Power, Processors, Samsung, Tesla

Amazon Introduces $50 Kindle to Attract More Consumers

September 17, 2015

Michael Liedtke, for the Associated Press, at the San Jose Mercury News:

“Our tablet focus is in and around content consumption,” said David Limp, Amazon’s senior vice president of devices.

It’s a little storefront, TV, and game center. Cheap, but with ads. And some experimental marketing (a six pack of tablets?). Let’s see.

Will Amazon’s most valuable consumers be buying *this* particular $50 model. No – if they buy a Kindle, they’ll probably buy a better model. But some of tomorrow’s Prime customers (tweens and teens) just might be the ones this is aimed for. And then they’ll ask their mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa to buy this or buy that. Might be on the tablet. Or might be via the other person’s account. At least that’s the hope, I believe. If it works, it’s worth the ultra-low (if any) gross margin that this product has.

On a related front, Pocketnow believes this latest version of the Kindle UI is looking thinner (closer to stock Android) than ever before.

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Filed Under: Amazon, Tablets

Wired, on Amazon’s Fire Phone

August 29, 2015

Brian Barrett, for Wired. And nice title, too.

Amazon’s Hardware Isn’t About You, and That’s the Problem

“They priced it like an iPhone,” says 451 Research VP Kevin Burden. “They priced it at a premium phone level, which makes people think it should perform like an iPhone, and people who buy it should expect it to be the same type of status symbol as an iPhone. That certainly wasn’t the case.” […]

A smartphone’s success or failure hinges on one central question, says [Gartner analyst Tuong Nguyen]: “What can this device do for me that my current device can’t do already? And does it do it so much better that I’m willing to drop the device I have now and get it immediately?”

Fire Phone inarguably let you buy things from Amazon faster than you current device can. Clearly, that wasn’t enough to get people to drop their devices. Which is telling, and unfortunate, because that’s also what drives the bulk of Amazon’s hardware lineup.

and later this:

Dedicated Amazon hardware doesn’t make buying from Amazon that much easier; it just makes the opportunities more obvious.

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Filed Under: Amazon, Product Development, Smartphones

Saturday Assorted Links

August 29, 2015

1. On Amazon’s Plans for a Low Cost Smartphone

At one point, the company planned a stripped-down Fire phone, but Amazon has stretched out its timeline for smartphone development indefinitely, people familiar with the matter said.

2. You can download Cortana for your Android device right now – here’s how Just interesting to see Microsoft’s cross-platform strategy evolve.

3. Xiaomi Will Launch In Africa In Sept Through Distributor

4. Xiaomi to release two chipsets for in-house use next year Focus appears to be cost. See my prior related post.

5. Huawei brings online smartphone brand Honor to Europe “Handsets would be mainly promoted and sold on-line […].”

6. Revealed: the first hydrogen-powered battery that will charge your Apple iPhone for a week Note: most small companies use an iPhone to demonstrate their capability. Primarily because it makes the invention look ready for prime time. And — as you can see — it increases the odds of generating a click-bait headline. Plus, yes, they’re hoping someone at Apple notices and sees “how well it fits in”, so to speak. Or that another potential acquirer thinks “Oh – I wouldn’t want Apple to buy them”.

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Filed Under: Amazon, Assorted Links, Distribution, Huawei, Intelligent Assistance, Microsoft, Power, Processors, Smartphones, Xiaomi

Market Scan Highlights: 2015-05-17

May 17, 2015

Screen Shot 2015-05-17 at 6.11.23 AM

Highlights from this week’s Market Scan. Read it here. Subscribe here.

  • China wireless carriers to slash contract prices, could spur 4G boom (Reuters)
  • MediaTek aims to go head-to-head with Qualcomm in high-end chips using Helio X20 platform (FierceWireless)
  • Amazon VP: ‘Anyone working on NFC is focusing on last century’s problem’ (Mashable)
  • Apple: Top Israeli Tech Exec says Apple’s 700 Israeli-based Engineers Mainly Work on New Chip Designs (Patently Apple)
  • Xiaomi coming to U.S., U.K., France and Germany with accessories to sell (Phone Arena)
  • Microsoft: Cortana for all: Microsoft’s plan to put voice recognition behind anything (Ars Technica)
  • Microsoft will bypass carriers, push Windows 10 updates directly to phones (PC World)
  • Samsung reveals a few facts about its round Gear smartwatch (Engadget)
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Filed Under: Amazon, Apple, Assorted Links, China, Contracts & Subsidies, Intelligent Assistance, Interface, Market Scan, MediaTek, Microsoft, Processors, Qualcomm, Smartphones, Smartwatches, Voice Recognition, Windows, Xiaomi

Nokia Targeting Apple, Alibaba and Amazon in Maps-Unit Sale

April 22, 2015

Article from Bloomberg, found via 9to5Mac. Bloomberg’s sources claim HERE is shopping itself to: Alibaba, Amazon, Apple, Baidu, Harman International, and Sirius. Apple…? Sometimes “Apple” gets name-dropped or implied just to create buzz. I can’t think of a serious reason Apple would have to buy HERE.

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Filed Under: Amazon, Apple, Maps, Nokia

Market Scan Highlights

April 18, 2015

Peruse the whole thing here (it’s easy). Some highlights, with my comments.

1. Microsoft will bundle its apps on Cyanogen’s Android OS (The Verge)

  • Raises Cyanogen’s credibility, visibility, and viability. Seems like low risk for Microsoft… no?

2. Apple Acquires Array Camera Developer LinX (Image Sensors World)

  • Neat improvement in quality (see link). Looks like Samsung and LG couldn’t afford the price. Apple doing more and more with Israeli co’s. Amazing high tech density.

3. Apple Invents a Simple Voice Command to unlock your iPhone (Patently Apple)

  • Yes, it’s just a patent. But more and more dots point toward “always on voice” coming to Apple products. At least that’s what Amazon Echo tells me.

4. Apple to equip next iPhone with Force Touch technology (DigiTimes)

  • You’d heard that, I know. But the article mentions other vendors using the technology, in 2016.

5. Samsung “will focus its efforts on flexible smartphone units” in 2015 (DigiTimes)

  • Just good to watch this topic.

6. Xiaomi Finds Themselves On The Receiving End Of Counterfeit Products (Ubergizmo)

  • Oh, the irony.

[Read more…]

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Filed Under: Acquisitions, Amazon, Apple, Assorted Links, Contracts & Subsidies, Cyanogen, Display, Flexible Electronics, Imaging, Intelligent Assistance, Interface, Market Scan, Microsoft, Power, Security & Privacy, Sensors, Smartphones, Smartwatches, Wearables - Other, Xiaomi

Wednesday Assorted Links

April 8, 2015

1. Apple reportedly purchased keyboard app maker Dryft last year.

2. Amazon Hints at Smart Home Future Through Echo Device. I have one. Recommended. But for the intro $99 price. The regular $199 price… probably isn’t good for anyone.

3. Something weird happens to your brain when you start improvising. (Thinking is fun. So is being in the flow.)

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Filed Under: Acquisitions, Amazon, Apple, Assorted Links, Intelligent Assistance, Interface

The Amazon Dash Button

April 1, 2015

Source: Amazon

Source: Amazon

I first learned about Dash Button via Seth Fiegerman’s article at Mashable. Here is Amazon’s product page.

Introduction

We are just beginning to see “Internet of Things” devices. There is much more experimentation, failure, and re-calibration to come; a mix of product development and market development. The question is, do you experiment* in public (think Google Glass) or do you do it in secrecy until you’re certain? (Perhaps the most direct way to think about that question is with another question: what’s the cost of failure, to your other product lines and to your reputation? The answer, for Amazon, for this product, is that it’s fairly low.)

First Impressions

The best aspect of the Dash Button is that it demonstrates Amazon’s dedication to imagining and engineering new products. In case you haven’t read my first post, I think that’s what it takes to move industries forward.

This product, however, seems like a clear-but-perhaps-ironically-inefficient solution that competes against pencil, paper, PC, and smartphone. (Why? See below.) The odds of mass-market success, therefore, might be quite low, even within the context of Amazon’s Prime consumer base. But it has strong platforms behind it: Amazon’s warehouse, payment, delivery, and service capabilities. So, a seemingly dead-simple way of leveraging huge capability; that’s a big plus.

Clarity

It also shows very sharp clarity in cutting the distance between “A” and “B”: i.e., between “want” and “get”. It could make the act of buying as habitual as consumption. Amazon’s video has the example: your cup-a-soup is a recurring habit; why not let your purchase be a recurring habit?

Specialization

At its core, this is an information device, albeit a small, passive, and stationary one. It’s actually a *specialized* information device. How have specialized information devices fared so far? (Hint: MP3 players, digital cameras, GPS devices, voice recorders, e-readers, etc.) … this is one more (or N more) information device whose job a smartphone can do.

Cognitive Clutter

The simplicity (at the action level; pressing the button) might be cancelled out at the device level. Why?

If you use a Dash button, or several, you’re guaranteed to deal with one or more of the following: moving them, knocking them down, damaging them, losing them, re-arranging them, re-programming them, or worrying about them (pets? babies?)… that’s 1…5… or 10 more objects your brain is tracking, at some level. The next time you realize you need more Smart Water, do you order it with your smartphone or tablet? Or do you walk to wherever you keep the button? What if you want a different size or flavor? 

Visual Clutter

Your sleek appliance + this bright button = visual clutter. And you’d be adding an advertisement to your appliance or wall. Multiplied by 1 button… or 5… or 10?

Silver Lining Platform

The button is just one way to leverage the more powerful things: Amazon’s high-performance platforms. Because the button uses Amazon’s Dash Replenishment Service (DRS), through which, Amazon explains:

Device makers are able to leverage Amazon’s authentication and payment systems, customer service, and fulfillment network—giving their customers access to Amazon’s low prices, great selection, and reliable delivery.

Trailing Questions

Are these color e-ink labels? Does this product generate ad revenue? These are free (and I’m guessing they’ll stay free) — do you need to “qualify” to get more, or can you ask for 10 at some point? When is mine coming? (Of course I signed up. It’s Amazon, and we’re in the age of tomorrow.)

______

*This button is an experiment, at some level. One clue: a soft launch like this.

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Filed Under: Amazon, IOT

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