Who's Making Money In The Mobile Market?

Source:  Fortune.

From this chart from  Asymco, it's very easy to see who's making the big bucks in the mobile market and how things have changed since 2007, when the iPhone was introduced.  Back then, Nokia was the king of profits.  Today, well, it's the iPhone maker, Apple.



Some hard and fast data:

• Apple has less than 9% of the handset market but accounts for 73% of all the profit.
• Android accounts more more than 50% of the market share but probably has the rest of the 27% profit.
• Of the 27% profit for the Android device makers, Samsung, now the world's biggest handset shipper, has 26% of that 27%.  
• Apple and Samsung has smothered the dollar count with 99% of the profit.

However, a second chart (which I'm gonna make you click over) shows that it isn't as if Apple or Samsung is taking money away from others.  Rather, it's that the pie has grown since 2007 but it's these two rivals that are getting the lion's share of the profit.  Well, okay, may Motorola and Nokia kinda lost out a bit.

This is only a snapshot of we see today.  Obviously, things will change.  Windows 8 is on the wing as is potentially Blackberry 10.  Maybe things'll get shake up a bit.  Not likely but could still happen.  The mobile war we're witness is still young.  I'd say about half way through the second quarter.  

Now, what I like to see is just how each ecosystem is performing against each other.

I Want This Concept Liquidmetal iPhone 5

Source:  iDownload Blog

Gimme, gimme, gimme!!!

I want this concept iPhone 5 as envisioned by Antoine Brieux, a French designer. 

So far, the device looks quite like what I described as how Apple could give us a bigger than the current 3.5" Retina Display without doing too much to make the next iPhone's body bigger, thus, harder to use with one hand.

In may difference from what I described and this concept iPhone is the home button is gone.  The screen itself is the home button.  How that'll work UI-wise, I can't say I have a good idea for.  However, given that multi-touch gesture on the iPad that allows the user to swipe between apps and for the multi-tasking panel at the bottom, Apple can certainly go that route.

Yeah, I want this iPhone!  Recently, I told a friend of mine that she should go ahead and get the 4S because I don't think the body of the device will change too much.  Boy, if Apple does unveil the next iPhone with a form factor even remotely close to this, someone's gonna be very pissed off at me...

RIM Delivers Blackberry 10 But Still Needs To Execute And Show What Its Mobile Vision Is

RIM showed off its newest but yet to be released Blackberry 10 OS today.  So far, all signs points to things stabilizing in the short-term for RIM if the Canadian mobile giant can deliver as promised.  However, how long before things start crashing down again?  Don’t get me wrong.  We want RIM to succeed but it’s not as simple as coming up with a mobile device that is on par with the current mobile trend-settings like Android.  Look at how long it took for the Playbook to get features like e-mail?  And even then, the Playbook has not managed to make any kind of inroad in the tablet market.

Let’s say RIM manages to deliver on what’s promised – a new Blackberry handset running the latest and greatest OS with some very impressive features, what then?  It would not only have to show that it can keep up with the big boys but RIM has to show what it has planned beyond that.to give supporters what is beyond mobile.

For a while, RIM might be able to do at best is hold onto its corporate market a bit longer.  However, in a world where more workers are given a choice of Android devices, Blackberries, and iPhones, it goes beyond just mobile.

Apple has built an ecosystem that few can rival.  Perhaps, the closest to come to the iTunes ecosystem is Amazon with its Kindle ecosystem.  Google and Microsoft are at least trying to replicate this system for their own respective mobile and desktop operating systems.  What does RIM have beyond what was once a promising tablet and a shrinking mobile market share?

Let’s look at some of RIM’s competitors.  RIM doesn’t have the reach of the likes of even Samsung or Sony – both with media boxes and HDTV.  Even Sony has its Playstation brand and media empire.   And being able to reach into the living is a must for mobile players.

What about the big three?  Google has already advanced Android on many HDTVs.  Microsoft is banking that windows 8 as well as its loyal Xbox market will give it an advantage.  Apple’s Apple TV strategy is still a hobby and there are a lot of signs that its’ ready to let go of that label and take the whole iTunes system up to a whole new level.  And I haven’t even gotten into rumored Apple-branded HDTV yet.

And what of RIM’s cloud stategy?

Cleary, in addition to developing and releasing Blackberry 10 devices on time, RIM has to show that it can keep up with its competitors.  It has to find partners to provide media like video, music, and ebooks.  It has to find a way into the lives of its customers and make itself an indispensable part of their lives and not just provide a means for mobile communication.

The following video demo of the BB10 keyboard shows that RIM can in fact innovate.  The problem isn’t necessarily that.  It’s execution and vision.  So far, both remains lacking.

New Dark Knight Rises Trailer!

Just got this in my inbox from WB.  Said it's a new trailer for the sure super hit, The Dark Knight Rises.

Definitely the must see movie of the summer. Sorry, Avengers is awesome looking but Batman is where the story's at - pain, sweat, and, of course...Vengeance!

I've already watched the trailer 3 times before I realized I haven't shared them with you yet.  I'll be watching this in 3D on IMAX.  Hopefully at an Arclight theater without kids yapping and texting (or kicking the back of my seat).

Speculation: Apple to Operate Own Wireless Service?

Source:  Boy Genius Report.


We know that Apple had contemplated creating its own wireless network through a bunch of WiFi hotspots that obviously did not happen.  Perhaps some day, we might see that happen with White Spaces.  Until then, the best opportunity for Apple to become a wireless provider is as a mobile virtual network operator, or MVNO.  


Billed as an "industry expert",  Whitey Bluestein said Apple has the resource to make this happen.  However, he doesn't say how Apple will go about making this happen, if it's even on Tim Cook's plate at the moment.  He doesn't suggest that Apple will operate as a MVNO either.


As much as I like the speculation, I'm going to call this one now:  not going to happen.  If there is actually rumblings about this, it's more likely Apple-generated to get the carriers to fall back in line regarding any shift in subsidies.  And it would make sense for carriers to give into Apple's subsidy demands and kowtow to Cupertino out west than to have Apple become a potentially scary competitor overnight.


If anyone does make this happen, I would guess it's Google. Regardless of if it's Apple or Google starting their own network, it will likely start off as MVNO and gradually supplemented with White Spaces networks in densely populated cities.

First Episode of The Walking Dead Game Is Out - Choose Your Actions Wisely

Source:  Electronista.

The Walking Dead game is out.  In the first episode, you have many decisions to make that will be critical to your survival.  You play Lee, a convict who will lead a group to safety or becoming food for the walking dead.

This is like yesteryear's Choose Your Own Adventure books except you'll being playing this on your Mac or PC.  Mobile versions like those for the iPhone and iPad will be out later this summer.  Me?  Ain't gonna wait until then.  This is what I'll be playing this Friday!

Here's a video from the developer on the game dynamics.  First, the trailer.

Episode 1 Video:

Interview with Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead

I especially like the world that is being created here.  You're not focused on the comic and television main character, rick Grimes, a sheriff deputy who was hurt in the line of duty and woke up in a world overrun by the dead.

Here's an extensive video of the actual game play.  It's like watching an actual show.

iPhone: Longer Screen And Slightly Wider Makes Sense

I've been trying to figure out just how Apple can make an iPhone with a bigger screen without screwing up the resolution and forcing developers to redo all of their apps to make it work on a potentially and mostly speculative bigger screen for the next iPhone.

A few weeks ago, there was talk that perhaps Apple can make the iPhone taller to accommodate a longer screen.  Obviously, this would break the current 3:2 ratio.  If so, so be it.  I don't see Apple necessarily married to this if it can provide a more meaningful mobile experience.  

What I don't think is absolutely necessary for Apple to do is to change the form factor of the iPhone by making it longer.  If you have an iPhone, take a look at it.  There's a lot of space on the top where the mic and Facetime camera are.  Also look at the home button area at the bottom.  Can the home button be modified a bit - make it smaller and wider or even get rid of it completely.  The whole bottom area becomes touch-sensitive.  Perhaps, Apple may need to make the iPhone slightly wider but I'm okay with that.

So, essentially, you end up with the surface of the new iPhone with mostly the display.  Sure, why not?  This is the trend we are headed after all.  There will be a day when Apple will be able to hide the camera behind the screen and push the earphone further to the top edge of the iPhone.  Chances are, we will never have an iPhone without any bezel at all.  You need to be able to hold your mobile device and what's the point of holding a part of the screen when you're not going to be able to see it anyway.

If Apple does ever go cover the iPhone completely with the screen, Apple will need to find a way to make the glass back multi-touch.  We already have such a device on the market A good example is the Sony Vita that allows the user to control games from the back of the device.

The reason I've gone further in this post about a full-screened iPhone is because that is where I really believe where Apple, Samsung, and others are headed and making an iPhone with an incrementally bigger screen is the natural intermediary step between today's iPhone and this future full-screened iPhone.  

All of this can be achieved without Apple making the iPhone looking and feeling uncomfortably bigger in the user's hand.  At the same time, by not making the iPhone much wider, it still allows for an one-handed use, something that is harder to do with many of the wider body Android devices on the market.

The question isn't if we'll get a bigger screen on the iPhone some day.  It's whether it'll be 3.7", 4", or even bigger.