Kindle Fire locks and captures value as service in a walled ecosystem 331.0
The launch of Kindle Fire yesterday proved my futurology skills right as to the appropriate response by the e-reader leader, Amazon, to avoid collateral damage from Apple’s iPad tablet. I wrote about this strategic response in the January 30, 2010 post Apple iPad Intrudes on Amazon Kindle e-Reader Space just four days after the Apple [...]
Microsoft Fights Back with Skype for Leading-edge Product Innovation 309.0
A face from the past and a pioneer in software venture capital, Anne Winblad of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, gave a very insightful interview on Bloomberg yesterday after a big news headlines day in the digital world. All the big news are the result of the leading companies positioning for the product innovation battles of [...]
Apple Growth Derives from Planned Product Obsolescence 222.0
As shown again by the IPhone 4, Apple’s growth strategy is just planned product obsolescence with a twist. In the olden days of three-to-five year product development cycles, planned product obsolescence, and therefore consumer upgrades, was driven by annual style changes. In the much shorter product cycles of recent years, Apple is the champion of [...]
Apple iPad Intrudes on Amazon Kindle e-Reader Space 167.0
Market leader Amazon hits back with Free! Yesterday at 0947 GMT (5:47pm Friday Manila), Amazon sent me the email at left offering a free download of Kindle for PC. Quickly, Amazon shots back across Apple’s bow. I would have taken the offer. I do buy a lot of books (like two a week). At the [...]
Innovation Lessons from a Master – Steve Jobs of Apple 108.0
Steve Jobs introduced a new feature into the iPod nano on Wednesday, a video cam with 8 gig of memory and all for US$149. He said the feature was added to take advantage of YouTube’s strong growth in video-based social media. Jobs is a master innovator in Romer space – designing product architectures that are [...]
