I am preparing a productization of the data underlying the models I use. I am working with Timetric.com to build the product and we are considering several options for packaging and pricing/access.
The first question I have is about how readers would like to see the data. I put up a poll to the right.
More questions will follow.
According to Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt Chinese consumers purchased 8 to 10 million smartphones last quarter–implying 400% growth from the 2 to 3 million last year.
How quickly things change. According to McCourt, Android now represents nearly 50 percent of smartphone volume in the country, up from zero last year. And Apple’s iOS, while a niche player with less than 500,000 iPhones sold last quarter, is ramping up quickly, thanks to the successful launch of the iPhone 4 in the country last month.
The growth of Android is far beyond what a single company can engineer. It represents the effect of uncoordinated and uncontrolled distribution. Google does not have to market, license or write contracts for Android. It also does not necessarily benefit from this work. It enables excess device manufacturing and distribution capacity to embrace browser-enabled devices. Continue reading “Android is accelerating smartphone adoption”
I began writing in February of 2010 but I moved to my own domain in June. More than 95% of my traffic came after June 1st (during which time 284 articles were written.)
Since then 270,036 visitors came to visit 592,351 times and saw 1,063,355 pages. 65,331 stopped by more than once. 337,270 of the visits came because someone told them about Asymco. 27,113 visits came because a search engine sent them. 1,548 of those who came had something to say and they said 5,273 things. Over 2,500 asked to keep in touch.
Here is the less lyrical breakdown of that traffic as reported by Google Analytics:
1,063,355 Pageviews
270,036 Unique Visitors
592,351 visits
Views by operating system (top ten of 25):
5,273 comments from 1,548 readers
1042 Twitter followers
248 Facebook “Like”
Approximately 1000 active RSS feeds
iOS has nearly three times more games than the previous twenty-five years of gaming combined.
via The staggering size of iOS’s game collection.
Most of the comments in the linked article complain that there is no filter for “quality” in the App Store. Contrasts nicely with the persistent criticism that Apple curates the App Store.
People throw around the idea of things being or becoming “commodities” but there is little clarity about what “commodity” status implies.
If you look up the word, it has nothing to do with technology or innovation. In economics, a commodity is something that is substitutable (fungible) and roughly equal to competing versions of the same thing. A mineral good (oil) or agricultural product (pork bellies) is roughly of equal value regardless of where it comes from or who produces it. Commodities also have very liquid markets and are therefore easily priced according to demand.
Commodities have a “fixed” quality which cannot be and most likely never was improved. It’s a product that is essentially frozen in terms of innovation.
But in technology and especially in terms of complex, rapidly improving and evolving products with uneven distribution a commodity is not easy to identify and there can be a lot of arguing about what is and isn’t. Continue reading “Is the smartphone a commodity?”
I updated to Basic Maths theme v. 1.1. I am trying a new, “native” theme iPhone users. Please let me know if there are problems with it in the comments below.
As London seems to have a particularly high concentration of readers, I thought I’d mention that I’ll be in London for the Apps World Exhibition 30th November and 1st December 2010. I’ll be attending as an official blogger and will cover the event.
If you are interested in meeting at or near the event let me know by email.
If there is enough interest, I will consider having a modest gathering at a venue nearby.
Given the large number of articles written in the last week on market data, I built a navigation table and posted it in a page that is easy to access:
You can find it under the ADDs tab at the top of the site.
Cells marked with “x” are work in progress.
Based on a reader query, I tried to find out where, by city, my readership is concentrated. I also sought to break this audience down by operating system.
Here are some observations:
For the last 30 days, here are the top operating systems used to reach Asymco.com, with the number of views from each. Continue reading “Postcards for Asymco: metropolitan distribution of views by operating system”
TOKYO (Reuters) – Shares of Sony Corp rose nearly 3 percent on Tuesday as traders cited media reports speculating that the Japanese electronics maker could be a potential acquisition target of Apple Inc.
via Sony shares up on speculation of Apple interest – Yahoo! Finance.
There’s a sucker born every minute. That phrase, (erroneously) attributed to a major benefactor of my Alma Mater, continues to ring true today.
Although Steve Jobs once admired Sony, the company today contains nothing of value to Apple. A disruptor is unlikely to buy the company he just disrupted. Would Sony have bought Westinghouse? Would WalMart have bought Sears? Would Microsoft have bought IBM in the 1990’s?
When considering an acquisition the chances are that the asset being purchased is going to ask a premium price. So the buyer has to answer this question: what is it about the asset that makes it worth more than the market price?
There are three (and only three) sources of value that a buyer can buy:
A company like Sony has some resources but its processes and business model are obsolete. Should Apple pay a premium for Sony’s assets? I don’t see a reason why.
