Facebook’s Revenue Future
There has been significant talk about Facebook’s revenue future. Two weeks ago Facebook introduced gift cards consumers can use at retailers like Target and restaurants like Olive Garden (see here and here). Facebook’s CFO, David Ebersman said during the quarterly earnings call in the same week that the long-term potential revenue will remain small for the immediate future. […]
Apple’s declining profitability: Structural or seasonal?
Philip Elmer-DeWitt wrote recently in Fortune about Apple’s declining gross margin. While I think Morgan Stanley’s Katy Huberty makes some great points about the potential of gross margin to increase this year I’d like to add a few additional thoughts. Ultimately, Apple’s product mix will largely define its gross margin in the years to come. […]
Will Dell Exist the Consumer Computer Business?
Dell announced earlier this week that it was going private in a $24.4 billion deal. The buyout is the largest since Blackstone’s $26 billion takeover of Hilton Hotels in 2007 and will add $15 billion of new debt to Dell. Dell is clearly at a difficult crossroads. In 2005, Dell was the world’s largest maker of PCs […]
The Superbowl’s Second Screen Experience
The Superbowl has come and gone. Leading up to the Superbowl there was a lot written about what the Second Screen approach would be (see here and here and here). I think alternative second screen approaches – second screen experiences designed by the rightsholder or the distribution network – can be especially effective when the digital […]
Chinese Smartphone OEMs Entering the U.S. Market as Unsubsidized Devices
As I predicted earlier this month, Chinese smartphone OEMs are entering the U.S. market as unlocked, unsubsidized devices. The Huawei Ascend P1 is now available on Amazon at a discounted price of $365.99.
The No-Cost Refinancing Myth – A Rebuttal
Over the last 13 years, I’ve refinanced several different mortgages seven or eight times using no-cost refinancing options. With a traditional no-cost refinance, you take a loan with an interest rate slightly above the current market rate. In exchange for taking a rate 1/8th to 1/4th higher than you could get in the market at […]
The Next Big Connected Device
The next big connected device is the wristwatch. At the 2013 CES earlier this month, there were a myriad of watches launched. Here are just a few examples: I mentioned watches in my CES trends presentation when I talked about the next leg in connectivity and the Verge covered many of these watches as part of their CES coverage. […]
January 2013 Travel Log
January 2013 is in the books. Here’s a recap of my travel during the month: 8 airports (IAD, LAS, MUC, HEL, FRA, DCA, DFW, SLC) 10 flight segments 18,774 total miles 1 red-eye 10 nights in a hotel
Engineering Doesn’t Necessarily Win in the End
There is a misconception that engineering wins in the end. It doesn’t. Perhaps it once did. Certainly over the last 60 years of technology engineering won out more than it does today. But today, pure engineering is simply less powerful in influencing adoption and consumer use. This has become acutely evident over the last 24 […]
Thinking about Travel Writings
I love the idea of travel logs and I’ve always been attracted to well written travel logs. In the late 1990s, after studying in the Middle East, I spend several months in Europe on a long layover back to the U.S. I had my own On the Road moment if you will. During this wander I also […]