kdssf's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/user/3756411/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/1278821/comments?source=feed#comment-16354541 16354541
What a difference 18 months makes... After Google spent billions to aquire Motorola Mobility, a business that continues to fade, Samsung has emerged as serious threat to Google's own device business... And unlike Apple, Google cannot discard them as a partner... In fact, to get the U.S. government's blessing of their MM acquisition, Google had to agree to continue to provide Android for free for the next five years! Talk about feeding the enemy!

The Samsung-Google relationship over the next few years will be fascinating to watch...]]> Fri, 15 Mar 2013 20:36:46 -0400
What a difference 18 months makes... After Google spent billions to aquire Motorola Mobility, a business that continues to fade, Samsung has emerged as serious threat to Google's own device business... And unlike Apple, Google cannot discard them as a partner... In fact, to get the U.S. government's blessing of their MM acquisition, Google had to agree to continue to provide Android for free for the next five years! Talk about feeding the enemy!

The Samsung-Google relationship over the next few years will be fascinating to watch...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1069601/comments?source=feed#comment-12753161 12753161
Apple remains the only manufacturer who provides unit shipment information on a quarterly basis... Amazon and Google are notoriously opaque about their product sales...

Without numbers, assessing the upside or downside of supply-demand imbalance is a fool's errand...]]> Tue, 18 Dec 2012 19:55:49 -0500
Apple remains the only manufacturer who provides unit shipment information on a quarterly basis... Amazon and Google are notoriously opaque about their product sales...

Without numbers, assessing the upside or downside of supply-demand imbalance is a fool's errand...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1069481/comments?source=feed#comment-12709451 12709451
Ya, if they stop making new products, that's definitely bad for the stock price... Nice insight...

And in what Universe, exaclty, is Apple going to stop making new products?

Really, guys, some of the analysis here is getting pretty lame...]]> Mon, 17 Dec 2012 19:40:35 -0500
Ya, if they stop making new products, that's definitely bad for the stock price... Nice insight...

And in what Universe, exaclty, is Apple going to stop making new products?

Really, guys, some of the analysis here is getting pretty lame...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1069331/comments?source=feed#comment-12704931 12704931
This is a simple story: WalMart is embracing the iPhone and iPad for the same reason it stopped selling Amazon's Kindle - it has no interest in promoting hardware and services from companies it competes with... That includes Amazon and Google...

WalMart also has its own reputation to maintain as a low-cost leader; hence, the discounting... If these promotions pull more people in, WalMart does just fine... And Apple receives the same net revenue... No harm, no foul...

Apple understands it needs to grow its ecosystem as well as maintain its margins... So if discounters want to slice their own margins, that's fine!

This is all good for Apple - there really is no downside at all...]]> Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:28:59 -0500
This is a simple story: WalMart is embracing the iPhone and iPad for the same reason it stopped selling Amazon's Kindle - it has no interest in promoting hardware and services from companies it competes with... That includes Amazon and Google...

WalMart also has its own reputation to maintain as a low-cost leader; hence, the discounting... If these promotions pull more people in, WalMart does just fine... And Apple receives the same net revenue... No harm, no foul...

Apple understands it needs to grow its ecosystem as well as maintain its margins... So if discounters want to slice their own margins, that's fine!

This is all good for Apple - there really is no downside at all...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/720101?source=feed#comment-12604401 12604401
An obvious reason that the lines are smaller is that Apple has put controls in place for scalpers and made it far easier for customers to purchase through online ordering and pick-up reservations. At the end of the day, nobody likes to stand in long lines. It's not in Apple's interest to propogate that, even for PR - it's in their interest to create a purchasing experience that does not require standing in a long line...

The lines in the U.S. were way shorter for iPhone 5 as well, but Apple still can't keep up with demand, which is robust...

Keep selling, guys! And I'll keep buying... :)]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:06:50 -0500
An obvious reason that the lines are smaller is that Apple has put controls in place for scalpers and made it far easier for customers to purchase through online ordering and pick-up reservations. At the end of the day, nobody likes to stand in long lines. It's not in Apple's interest to propogate that, even for PR - it's in their interest to create a purchasing experience that does not require standing in a long line...

The lines in the U.S. were way shorter for iPhone 5 as well, but Apple still can't keep up with demand, which is robust...

Keep selling, guys! And I'll keep buying... :)]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/1064211/comments?source=feed#comment-12604051 12604051
The Maps thing is absolutely embarrassing for Apple from a brand and reputation perspective, it is easy pickings to find funny visual artifacts, Apple is definitely held to a higher standard than Google, and of course there's no transit on Apple Maps... However, this will all fade away... People will slowly realize that now they have Street View on the iPhone! Didn't have that with iOS 5. AND, they have integrated 3D flyovers and a superior turn-by-visual interface with Apple maps... Best of both worlds... Compared to Android fragmented and confused ecosystem, this is all a huge advantage for Apple...

Competition is great, and it is only making iOS and its ecosystem the best one around... Google could have avoided all of this by making Google Maps better earlier, but they didn't...]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:58:58 -0500
The Maps thing is absolutely embarrassing for Apple from a brand and reputation perspective, it is easy pickings to find funny visual artifacts, Apple is definitely held to a higher standard than Google, and of course there's no transit on Apple Maps... However, this will all fade away... People will slowly realize that now they have Street View on the iPhone! Didn't have that with iOS 5. AND, they have integrated 3D flyovers and a superior turn-by-visual interface with Apple maps... Best of both worlds... Compared to Android fragmented and confused ecosystem, this is all a huge advantage for Apple...

Competition is great, and it is only making iOS and its ecosystem the best one around... Google could have avoided all of this by making Google Maps better earlier, but they didn't...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/944991/comments?source=feed#comment-10850331 10850331 Right on, right on, right on...
The iPad mini's price point is rational and appropriate...
The folks who are complaining are wishful thinkers who aren't really paying enough attention...

Kudos for pushing back on the conventional wisdom!]]> Wed, 24 Oct 2012 13:01:57 -0400 Right on, right on, right on...
The iPad mini's price point is rational and appropriate...
The folks who are complaining are wishful thinkers who aren't really paying enough attention...

Kudos for pushing back on the conventional wisdom!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/594611?source=feed#comment-10665981 10665981
This is the first full quarter of results with Motorola attached, and the breakdown won't be pretty...]]> Thu, 18 Oct 2012 13:29:49 -0400
This is the first full quarter of results with Motorola attached, and the breakdown won't be pretty...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/863901/comments?source=feed#comment-9842391 9842391
Android is already beating them in market share, but most of those sales are low-end devices (or closed devices like Kindle), and they are not generating much revenue-generating traffic for Google... That will change in the next couple of years, however - both Motorola and Samsung will continue to improve their offerings... They both throw lots of darts, but they're starting to hit the target... Apple absolutely cannot rest on their laurels, and without Steve, it may be harder for them to come up with the new, new thing...]]> Tue, 25 Sep 2012 12:10:01 -0400
Android is already beating them in market share, but most of those sales are low-end devices (or closed devices like Kindle), and they are not generating much revenue-generating traffic for Google... That will change in the next couple of years, however - both Motorola and Samsung will continue to improve their offerings... They both throw lots of darts, but they're starting to hit the target... Apple absolutely cannot rest on their laurels, and without Steve, it may be harder for them to come up with the new, new thing...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/547241?source=feed#comment-9641231 9641231
And people say they 'miss that' feature in iOS 6? C'mon! That was a feature that never existed...

It's fair to say that people want Street View, and they don't yet have it, but let's get the facts straight, shall we?]]> Wed, 19 Sep 2012 19:11:05 -0400
And people say they 'miss that' feature in iOS 6? C'mon! That was a feature that never existed...

It's fair to say that people want Street View, and they don't yet have it, but let's get the facts straight, shall we?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/538731?source=feed#comment-9458491 9458491
Well, if you want to change to a 9:16 aspect ratio, which is certainly an improvement, that's what happens... In 90 days, they'll all be gone...

Yawn...]]> Fri, 14 Sep 2012 13:10:18 -0400
Well, if you want to change to a 9:16 aspect ratio, which is certainly an improvement, that's what happens... In 90 days, they'll all be gone...

Yawn...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/537381?source=feed#comment-9408601 9408601
All three OS's are proprietary, all three are controlled... Android is open to developers but relatively closed to OEMs... And the collars on the latter are tightening each year...

Eventually, Samsung, HTC and others will learn this lesson... Like the PC manufacturers before them - HP, Dell, etc. - their continuing dependence on Android will commoditize and severely damage the margins of their mobile hardware business... They are basically selling new hardware portals into Google's monopoly advertising business... That is not a sustainable model for anyone except Google...]]> Thu, 13 Sep 2012 12:45:36 -0400
All three OS's are proprietary, all three are controlled... Android is open to developers but relatively closed to OEMs... And the collars on the latter are tightening each year...

Eventually, Samsung, HTC and others will learn this lesson... Like the PC manufacturers before them - HP, Dell, etc. - their continuing dependence on Android will commoditize and severely damage the margins of their mobile hardware business... They are basically selling new hardware portals into Google's monopoly advertising business... That is not a sustainable model for anyone except Google...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/863901/comments?source=feed#comment-9382841 9382841
Having said that, not every year is going to introduce 'feature' breakthroughs for the iPhone... What will make or break Apple's future growth is not the features, but the integration and the ecosystem of apps and services: both quality and quantity, from Apple and its partners... In those departments (vs. hardware 'features'), Apple is still beating Android hands down... Android has the activation volume but not the web activity because low-end devices (which consume fewer services) are driving most of its growth... It also continues to have huge fragmentation and security issues, which are a nightmare for developers... Hackers love Android; consumers are far more lukewarm...

Bottom line: customer loyalty is still off-the-charts compared to Android or Windows... That bodes very well for Apple - their customers stick with them, and every year they gain many more customers from Android than they lose to Android...]]> Wed, 12 Sep 2012 19:31:11 -0400
Having said that, not every year is going to introduce 'feature' breakthroughs for the iPhone... What will make or break Apple's future growth is not the features, but the integration and the ecosystem of apps and services: both quality and quantity, from Apple and its partners... In those departments (vs. hardware 'features'), Apple is still beating Android hands down... Android has the activation volume but not the web activity because low-end devices (which consume fewer services) are driving most of its growth... It also continues to have huge fragmentation and security issues, which are a nightmare for developers... Hackers love Android; consumers are far more lukewarm...

Bottom line: customer loyalty is still off-the-charts compared to Android or Windows... That bodes very well for Apple - their customers stick with them, and every year they gain many more customers from Android than they lose to Android...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/524101?source=feed#comment-9124541 9124541 Wed, 05 Sep 2012 18:26:51 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/511631?source=feed#comment-8869761 8869761
The advertising business model that Google has built over the past decade is under assault - not by competitors as much as by consumers themselves - and Google now desperately needs to have some of their other businesses actually make money... (Oops! As a condition of their Motorola acquisition, they can't charge money for Android for five years...)

So prepare yourself for the coming onslaught of Google advertisments for its own products and further 'integration' of its services that more effectively 'monetizes' users... Meanwhile, the Google brand - while still very popular with hackers and developers - continues to erode with consumers...

The first sign of desperation is when a company begins to break its own rules... (Exhibit A: Microsoft Surface) Unfortunately, in Google's case, such rule-breaking will only hasten their inevitable decline from decade-long dominance of web services...]]> Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:23:22 -0400
The advertising business model that Google has built over the past decade is under assault - not by competitors as much as by consumers themselves - and Google now desperately needs to have some of their other businesses actually make money... (Oops! As a condition of their Motorola acquisition, they can't charge money for Android for five years...)

So prepare yourself for the coming onslaught of Google advertisments for its own products and further 'integration' of its services that more effectively 'monetizes' users... Meanwhile, the Google brand - while still very popular with hackers and developers - continues to erode with consumers...

The first sign of desperation is when a company begins to break its own rules... (Exhibit A: Microsoft Surface) Unfortunately, in Google's case, such rule-breaking will only hasten their inevitable decline from decade-long dominance of web services...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/509581?source=feed#comment-8836741 8836741
It's not clear to me yet if Google can generate the volume on mobile to compensate for their pricing problem... Each quarter their margins get smaller and smaller... We'll see...]]> Mon, 27 Aug 2012 20:39:51 -0400
It's not clear to me yet if Google can generate the volume on mobile to compensate for their pricing problem... Each quarter their margins get smaller and smaller... We'll see...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/509581?source=feed#comment-8835731 8835731
I agree about the accidents - even popups typically have 'X' close buttons so tiny it's 50/50 when you try to close them... Same thing with Facebook 'sponsored' links - people usually don't notice it's an ad... Advertisers are noticing that these ads aren't producing much revenue for them, hence their unwillingness to pay higher prices...]]> Mon, 27 Aug 2012 19:58:00 -0400
I agree about the accidents - even popups typically have 'X' close buttons so tiny it's 50/50 when you try to close them... Same thing with Facebook 'sponsored' links - people usually don't notice it's an ad... Advertisers are noticing that these ads aren't producing much revenue for them, hence their unwillingness to pay higher prices...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/507141?source=feed#comment-8752691 8752691 Fri, 24 Aug 2012 19:28:33 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/482361?source=feed#comment-8301471 8301471
Google is by far the best large-scale corporate example of the breakdown of personal ethics among the get-rich-quick digital elite...

The good news is that people are slowly catching on that the Google simply does not respect reasonable boundaries of privacy and copyright... Searching personal e-mail content to generate more advertising revenue; cookie workarounds that violate privacy laws; illegally downloading wi-fi data (don't worry! we didn't look at it!); enabling unlawful piracy through their own search engine; the list goes on and on...

Eventually, absent changes to its corporate culture and the personal ethics of its employees, Google will be punished severely by their customers and partners...]]> Fri, 10 Aug 2012 19:07:12 -0400
Google is by far the best large-scale corporate example of the breakdown of personal ethics among the get-rich-quick digital elite...

The good news is that people are slowly catching on that the Google simply does not respect reasonable boundaries of privacy and copyright... Searching personal e-mail content to generate more advertising revenue; cookie workarounds that violate privacy laws; illegally downloading wi-fi data (don't worry! we didn't look at it!); enabling unlawful piracy through their own search engine; the list goes on and on...

Eventually, absent changes to its corporate culture and the personal ethics of its employees, Google will be punished severely by their customers and partners...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/790741/comments?source=feed#comment-8215881 8215881
In terms of products that actually make money, however, they certainly are a one-trick pony... It's search... Or, more precisely, advertising...

If and when Google's search franchise is attacked effectively, Google is in an extremely poor position to make up the difference with other profit-generating revenue streams... But in the meantime, the advertising dollars keep rolling in...]]> Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:39:42 -0400
In terms of products that actually make money, however, they certainly are a one-trick pony... It's search... Or, more precisely, advertising...

If and when Google's search franchise is attacked effectively, Google is in an extremely poor position to make up the difference with other profit-generating revenue streams... But in the meantime, the advertising dollars keep rolling in...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/736191/comments?source=feed#comment-7595831 7595831
And Motorola is going to make that worse, not better - Google's early predictions that the acquisition would be accretive were simply a fantasty... And I'm not buying 'we've only been there a few weeks, please be patient' answer to analysts' questions about their plans for Motorola - they agreed to this deal last August and closed it in May! C'mon! One would think they would have a general idea about what they are going to do with the bloated hardware manufacturer now on their books... That was a purchase driven by patent protection panic, not strategy...

The stock is experiencing a nice pop, for sure... 'Soaring'? Hardly.

In the meantime, the advertising machine keeps on humming, generating 97% of their profits, but one-trick ponies usually come up lame eventually... The billions of Larry and Sergei's playtime R&D money have generated nothing yet that earns a dime for shareholders...

And the Google brand continues to get slightly creepier each year...]]> Fri, 20 Jul 2012 13:51:46 -0400
And Motorola is going to make that worse, not better - Google's early predictions that the acquisition would be accretive were simply a fantasty... And I'm not buying 'we've only been there a few weeks, please be patient' answer to analysts' questions about their plans for Motorola - they agreed to this deal last August and closed it in May! C'mon! One would think they would have a general idea about what they are going to do with the bloated hardware manufacturer now on their books... That was a purchase driven by patent protection panic, not strategy...

The stock is experiencing a nice pop, for sure... 'Soaring'? Hardly.

In the meantime, the advertising machine keeps on humming, generating 97% of their profits, but one-trick ponies usually come up lame eventually... The billions of Larry and Sergei's playtime R&D money have generated nothing yet that earns a dime for shareholders...

And the Google brand continues to get slightly creepier each year...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/427771?source=feed#comment-7591871 7591871
Larry Page? No comment. Plans for Motorola? No comment. Sales figures for Nexus 7? No comment.

Google is the world's most secretive advertising company...]]> Fri, 20 Jul 2012 12:09:17 -0400
Larry Page? No comment. Plans for Motorola? No comment. Sales figures for Nexus 7? No comment.

Google is the world's most secretive advertising company...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/734491/comments?source=feed#comment-7569651 7569651
Motorola added to revenue, but subtracted from earnings... Despite Google's earlier assertions, Motorola will clearly not be accretive to earnings... That was a pipe dream...]]> Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:21:28 -0400
Motorola added to revenue, but subtracted from earnings... Despite Google's earlier assertions, Motorola will clearly not be accretive to earnings... That was a pipe dream...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/729571/comments?source=feed#comment-7534641 7534641
The fact is that loan loss reserves are established based on a set of assumptions regarding the percentage of loans that will go sour. As non-performing loan portfolios improve, which they are, it is appropriate, rational and reasonable for the banks to release some reserves. If anything, they are being conservative...

Keep beating up the banks, though! With Citi and BofA trading at 50-60% of their tangible book value, they are an excellent value...]]> Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:45:53 -0400
The fact is that loan loss reserves are established based on a set of assumptions regarding the percentage of loans that will go sour. As non-performing loan portfolios improve, which they are, it is appropriate, rational and reasonable for the banks to release some reserves. If anything, they are being conservative...

Keep beating up the banks, though! With Citi and BofA trading at 50-60% of their tangible book value, they are an excellent value...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/422151?source=feed#comment-7525321 7525321
Where are the actual facts - rather than speculation - that support the case that Google is getting a free ride?

Apple is pretty hard-core about making sure that nothing is sold on their platform without Apple getting a cut of it... That's why iOS apps are not allowed to link to e-commerce sites for ordering products - you gotta order from within the app, and Apple gets a cut...

Why would they let Google completely escape that business model? I'm not so sure they did...

I tried Chrome, found it less useful than native Safari and uninstalled it... Of course, I don't have other devices with Chrome installed that I want to sync too - other users may value that...]]> Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:55:43 -0400
Where are the actual facts - rather than speculation - that support the case that Google is getting a free ride?

Apple is pretty hard-core about making sure that nothing is sold on their platform without Apple getting a cut of it... That's why iOS apps are not allowed to link to e-commerce sites for ordering products - you gotta order from within the app, and Apple gets a cut...

Why would they let Google completely escape that business model? I'm not so sure they did...

I tried Chrome, found it less useful than native Safari and uninstalled it... Of course, I don't have other devices with Chrome installed that I want to sync too - other users may value that...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/421551?source=feed#comment-7507041 7507041
The prediction of a slowdown based on users waiting for iPhone 5, while still a factor, is less material today because of Apple's rolling schedule of product introductions into different markets... This is not 2009...

China, in particular, is on fire, and buyers there are not going to wait for the next iPhone5 that they won't see until spring 2013...

I'm always amazed by analysts who seem to talk to each other but don't seem to read financial statements, SEC fillings, sales figures or Apple's own announcements about product introductions into various markets...

Apple is going to have a solid Q3, their Q4 guidance will be conservative, as always... The quarter after that, the 2012 holiday quarter, will be off the charts... Anybody long AAPL going into 2013 will do just fine... The stock will end this year at $750 minimum...]]> Wed, 18 Jul 2012 11:30:57 -0400
The prediction of a slowdown based on users waiting for iPhone 5, while still a factor, is less material today because of Apple's rolling schedule of product introductions into different markets... This is not 2009...

China, in particular, is on fire, and buyers there are not going to wait for the next iPhone5 that they won't see until spring 2013...

I'm always amazed by analysts who seem to talk to each other but don't seem to read financial statements, SEC fillings, sales figures or Apple's own announcements about product introductions into various markets...

Apple is going to have a solid Q3, their Q4 guidance will be conservative, as always... The quarter after that, the 2012 holiday quarter, will be off the charts... Anybody long AAPL going into 2013 will do just fine... The stock will end this year at $750 minimum...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/417321?source=feed#comment-7444241 7444241
It's interesting that the NYT's Nick Bilton says this is what makes GVS 'smarter' than Siri... In fact, GVS is just a dictation interface...

GVS is, by design and at its peril, trapped in that dictation role. Ultimately, I would rather have my voice assistant understand local context and my own personal information, and - this is important - show deference to that! For example, if I ask about someone and that person is in my contact list (or I follow them on Twitter or I'm friends with them on Facebook), that's the information I want first, not a Google search result. Google cannot make money with that model, hence their single-minded focus on search and paid links; Apple, however, can. Integration with the universe of apps that customers want and use and their own personal information will ultimately create a superior user experience and larger market opportunity than a dictation interface to Google search...

Is Apple there yet? No way. Siri is still clearly beta software, the pace of its improvement is slow, and I don't find it particularly useful (yet). Its promise as a tool will ultimately depend on how Apple seamlessly integrates its functionality into its mobile platform and the third-party apps running there, as well as its own search capabilities. The API is key. It's not really about Siri vs. GVS, it's about what those tools are connected to and how they are integrated...

I do believe that Apple is pursuing a much larger opportunity than what Google has done, which is to trap GVS as a front-end to Google Search - basically, make it a dumb dictation machine... It's actually not 'smart' at all...

Nick Bilton is factually correct but completely misses the larger point...]]> Mon, 16 Jul 2012 19:38:21 -0400
It's interesting that the NYT's Nick Bilton says this is what makes GVS 'smarter' than Siri... In fact, GVS is just a dictation interface...

GVS is, by design and at its peril, trapped in that dictation role. Ultimately, I would rather have my voice assistant understand local context and my own personal information, and - this is important - show deference to that! For example, if I ask about someone and that person is in my contact list (or I follow them on Twitter or I'm friends with them on Facebook), that's the information I want first, not a Google search result. Google cannot make money with that model, hence their single-minded focus on search and paid links; Apple, however, can. Integration with the universe of apps that customers want and use and their own personal information will ultimately create a superior user experience and larger market opportunity than a dictation interface to Google search...

Is Apple there yet? No way. Siri is still clearly beta software, the pace of its improvement is slow, and I don't find it particularly useful (yet). Its promise as a tool will ultimately depend on how Apple seamlessly integrates its functionality into its mobile platform and the third-party apps running there, as well as its own search capabilities. The API is key. It's not really about Siri vs. GVS, it's about what those tools are connected to and how they are integrated...

I do believe that Apple is pursuing a much larger opportunity than what Google has done, which is to trap GVS as a front-end to Google Search - basically, make it a dumb dictation machine... It's actually not 'smart' at all...

Nick Bilton is factually correct but completely misses the larger point...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/currents/post/416891?source=feed#comment-7437461 7437461 Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:16:24 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/721911/comments?source=feed#comment-7434361 7434361
Google, of course, is willing to do that with the Nexus 7 and try to make up for it (like Amazon and the Kindle Fire) with ads and services...

While Google claims its intent is to 'supercharge' its ecosystem, they are actually deliberately killing the Android ecosystem. Which hardware partners, now, will want to make a 7" tablet to compete with Google's own? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

If Google wants to do everything, then it better do everything and abandon the 'ecosystem' folly.. With Google's Motorola purchase and now the Nexus, that is precisely what they are doing... They just haven't publicly admitted it yet... But their partners have definitely noticed...

A key question, as you point out, is whether Google can actually become a competent consmer products company, including marketing, sales and support. So far, they have not demonstrated that...

Meanwhile, Microsoft has the exact same problem with Surface, and the Apple factories and profit machine just keep humming along...]]> Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:01:04 -0400
Google, of course, is willing to do that with the Nexus 7 and try to make up for it (like Amazon and the Kindle Fire) with ads and services...

While Google claims its intent is to 'supercharge' its ecosystem, they are actually deliberately killing the Android ecosystem. Which hardware partners, now, will want to make a 7" tablet to compete with Google's own? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

If Google wants to do everything, then it better do everything and abandon the 'ecosystem' folly.. With Google's Motorola purchase and now the Nexus, that is precisely what they are doing... They just haven't publicly admitted it yet... But their partners have definitely noticed...

A key question, as you point out, is whether Google can actually become a competent consmer products company, including marketing, sales and support. So far, they have not demonstrated that...

Meanwhile, Microsoft has the exact same problem with Surface, and the Apple factories and profit machine just keep humming along...]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/721911/comments?source=feed#comment-7433761 7433761
Google is assured of (and experiencing) a pop of enthusiastic early adopter hackers and Googlephiles... You know, people who like to root their devices... The uptake among millions of ordinary consumers - who simply want their devices to work - will be quite different...

The Nexus 7 offers few apps, small content libraries, poor screen and color quality, etc. To its credit, what is does offer is price. But the 7" iPad coming in a few months will absolutely crush it, particularly during the holidays. The vast majority of consumers won't buy something substantially inferior, that their friends don't use and their kids don't like, in order to save $50. Google is a brilliant engineering company but (so far) a lousy consumer products company...

At the end of 2012, Apple will have sold over 60,000,000 iPads. Google will have sold no more than 1 million Nexus 7s. If that makes it 'red hot' or if they 'sell out' in the process, well, fine. Sales figures are what actually matter...]]> Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:43:44 -0400
Google is assured of (and experiencing) a pop of enthusiastic early adopter hackers and Googlephiles... You know, people who like to root their devices... The uptake among millions of ordinary consumers - who simply want their devices to work - will be quite different...

The Nexus 7 offers few apps, small content libraries, poor screen and color quality, etc. To its credit, what is does offer is price. But the 7" iPad coming in a few months will absolutely crush it, particularly during the holidays. The vast majority of consumers won't buy something substantially inferior, that their friends don't use and their kids don't like, in order to save $50. Google is a brilliant engineering company but (so far) a lousy consumer products company...

At the end of 2012, Apple will have sold over 60,000,000 iPads. Google will have sold no more than 1 million Nexus 7s. If that makes it 'red hot' or if they 'sell out' in the process, well, fine. Sales figures are what actually matter...]]>