Tag Archives: market analysis

State of the NAS: private clouds and an app platform

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Just as significantly, the firmware that many companies are offering is now extensible. Most NAS boxes are Linux systems, and it’s often been possible to ssh in and install software on them. But several companies are currently offering something that looks suspiciously like an app store, where NAS users can do one-click installs of additional features.

via State of the NAS: private clouds and an app platform | Ars Technica.

The main challenge is that all these options add a degree of complexity to managing things, some on the NAS itself, and some in terms of integrating it with your router, software, etc. Finding the software and firmware with the right balance for you is probably more important than picking your hardware. Of the ones we’ve tried, we’re partial to Synology’s firmware (some of us exceedingly fond) because of its huge range of capabilities and frequent updates that add even more. But if you can, try a few

Huawei’s High Hopes for Handsets

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Wan Biao, CEO of Huawei Device, has told Reuters he expects the company’s consumer device business to achieve revenue growth of 30 percent next year, while smartphone revenues are expected to grow by at least 40 percent.

That would put the Huawei Device unit’s 2013 revenue target at about US$11.7 billion, as the Chinese vendor has forecast its device sales to hit $9 billion this year. In 2011, Huawei’s device unit generated $6.9 billion in sales, about 22 percent of the company’s total revenues. (See Huawei, ZTE Look to Handsets for Growth.)

via Light Reading Mobile – Wireless Bits – Huawei’s High Hopes for Handsets.

IPv4 address transfer markets are forming where we least expected

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And indeed, in the APNIC region, 191,744 addresses were transferred in 2011 with another 713,216 in the first half of 2012. In the RIPE region Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the Middle East, the researchers couldn’t find any address transfers. But surprisingly, in the ARIN region North America—where there is no immediate shortage—no less than 821,504 addresses were transferred in 2011 with 4.22 million in the first half of 2012.

via IPv4 address transfer markets are forming where we least expected | Ars Technica.

But we now know there are other players than ISPs looking to secure enough IPv4 addresses for the medium term. There’s also the possibility that address trading will take off once trading between regions becomes a possibility, so that address-starved Asians can buy up addresses from North American companies such as HP. That company happens to be sitting on more than 33 million addresses. Or consider the US government, which has more than 168 million. Ultimately, maybe the money is better spent upgrading to IPv6 instead.

Intel Confirms Decline of Server Giants HP, Dell, and IBM

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But just four years later, Bryant says, the landscape has completely changed. Today, she explains, eight server makers account for 75 percent of Intel’s server chip revenues, and at least one of those eight doesn’t even sell servers. It only makes servers for itself. “Google is something like number five on that list,” Bryant told us on Monday evening, during a dinner with reporters in downtown San Francisco.

That’s right, Google is likely the world’s fifth largest server maker.

via Intel Confirms Decline of Server Giants HP, Dell, and IBM | Wired Enterprise | Wired.com.

Apple owns US smartphone market while Samsung dominates worldwide

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Smartphone market share numbers for the second quarter of 2012 reveal that occasional bitter rivals Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the market, while competitors fight over the leftovers. Market research firm IDC shows Samsung holding a 30 percent share worldwide, while Apple trails with 17 percent. But NPD’s recent data paints a different picture domestically, with Apple garnering 31 percent of the US smartphone market share, and Samsung holding 24 percent.

via Apple owns US smartphone market while Samsung dominates worldwide | Ars Technica.

How the Kindle Fire and the Nexus 7 harmed the tablet market

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So the problem with the Kindle Fire — and the Nexus 7 — is the same problem that’s plagued the PC industry. Deep and extreme price cuts give the makers no wriggle room to innovate. There’s no doubt that a $199 was an attractive price point for a tablet, but it’s possibly that it was unsustainably low, and that by driving prices down to this level so rapidly, both Amazon and Google have irrevocably harmed the tablet market by creating unrealistic price expectations. It’s quite likely that these impracticable price demands could harm Microsoft and its tablet ambitions.

via How the Kindle Fire and the Nexus 7 harmed the tablet market | ZDNet.

The Amazon Effect

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Amazon’s entry into publishing’s traditional casino is a sideshow. More worrisome, at least over the long term, is the success of Amazon’s Kindle Single program, an effort to encourage writers to make an end run around publishers, not only of books but of magazines as well. That program offers writers a chance to publish original e-book essays of no more than 30,000 words (authors agree to a bargain-basement price of no more than $2.99 in exchange for a 70 percent royalty and no advance).

via The Amazon Effect | The Nation.

This article is very long winded but makes a good history reference for amazon.

What if Facebook is really worth $100 billion?

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Facebook’s success therefore depends on conformity. Why is Facebook so valuable? Because everyone (even this writer, reluctantly) is on Facebook. Why aren’t people still on Myspace, or a dozen other social media contenders?

Because the nature of the communication itself requires everyone to be on the same system, just as Microsoft a generation ago forced everyone to use its operating system and software. It is not just the so-called Network Effect, but Facebook’s raison d’etre: to advertise one’s conformity to commercial culture in a way that preserves the illusion of individuality.

via Asia Times Online :: Asian news and current affairs.

Google Generates 6 Times More Revenue Per User than Facebook

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Facebook is back in the spotlight today after raising $500 million from Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and a Russian investor. With all the hype that Facebook may go public in the near future, now is a great time to take a look at whether Facebook users are particularly valuable when compared to the competition:

via Google Generates 6 Times More Revenue Per User than Facebook (NASDAQ:AMZN, NASDAQ:EBAY, NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:YHOO, NASDAQ:BIDU, NYSE:GS) | Wall St. Cheat Sheet.

This story dated 1/5/2011.  I have not looked at how they tabulated these numbers but statistics can favour whoever wrote the mathematical  formula.  Interesting nonetheless.

Apple hoards tablet share while market falls off a cliff for first quarter

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The first quarter of the calendar year usually results in a decline in unit sales from the previous quarter due to the holiday season rush to buy gadgets. Apple wasn’t completely immune to this market force—IDC says the company shipped 11.8 million iPads during the first quarter of the year, down from 15.4 million units over the holiday season. Despite this drop, Apple’s share of the tablet market was able to shoot up more than 14 percentage points between quarters, largely because of the precipitous decline in tablet sales from the likes of Amazon. According to IDC, Amazon’s share of the tablet market with the Kindle Fire was 16.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, but fell to just 4 percent in the first quarter of 2012.

via Apple hoards tablet share while market falls off a cliff for first quarter.