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  • The Future of PC and Mobile Processors PC Magazine logo

    I've spent a lot of time with a number of hardware manufacturers recently, trying to get a glimpse into the next generation of processors and the ways in which they'll impact future gadgets and PCs. In all my meetings, one term has arisen time and again: SOC, or system-on-a-chip.

    Traditionally, chips have been created independently and then coupled together to provide multiple computing features. For example, a manufacturer would create a core processor like an Intel Centrino with a built-in Wi-Fi radio, and then attach that to a systems board, perhaps linking it together with a separate graphics co-processor, in order to deliver enhanced PC graphics. Another might take an ARM core processor and then add on additional features like extended graphics to enhance device functionality.

  • Apple's iPad: Live up the Hype? It Will....
    It was interesting to hear all the chatter after last week's iPad launch. Most reactions I heard from other analysts and media were lukewarm at best...which was what I expected. If you think about it, how can anything live up to the kind of hype leading up to this launch? But there was a lot missed in the media about the event and the product that I hope to share in order to maintain our perspective on not only the iPad but on Apple and their products.  
  • Innovation Abounds - CES 2010 Post Show Analysis

    This year's CES was very interesting. I had felt for the past few years that CES was sorely lacking in the innovation department. But this year it looks like things have changed in the technology industry. Technology companies have realized that to reach the consumer the pace of innovation needs to accelerate, and this year's CES was a start in that direction.  Several things stuck out that I'd like to highlight:  

  • Apple's Competitive Advantage

    One of the primary things about being an effective technology industry analysis firm is that we have to clearly communicate our perspectives about the technology industry as a whole to our clients. This requires more than just the regurgitation of information as we gather it in the field. It requires explaining more fundamental elements of what is happening and why. It is because of this that we seem to get one question common to many of the companies that we speak with and provide services to. That question is: "Why is Apple doing so well and what can we do to compete?"


    Particularly of interest to many is why Apple appears to be recession-proof while many others in the hardware business had a rough 18 months or so. There are more reasons then I have time to go into in this article as to why Apple appears to be unstoppable, so I will highlight just a few. I am a big picture strategic thinker by nature and I love thinking about and strategizing around competitive advantage and differentiation. That is why I love analyzing Apple, because they play the strategic game extremely well, particularly when it comes to developing strategies to defend their competitive advantage. There are three key areas that stick out to me as particularly defensible for Apple. 

Apple's iPad: Live up the Hype? It Will....

Written by Ben Bajarin

It was interesting to hear all the chatter after last week's iPad launch. Most reactions I heard from other analysts and media were lukewarm at best...which was what I expected. If you think about it, how can anything live up to the kind of hype leading up to this launch? But there was a lot missed in the media about the event and the product that I hope to share in order to maintain our perspective on not only the iPad but on Apple and their products.  
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Apple's iPad and its Impact on Competitors

Written by Tim Bajarin

When Apple introduced the iPad this week, most of the world was mainly focused on it becoming a new version of a tablet, a mobile computing form factor that has been on the market for almost 20 years. And while it is a more consumer friendly version of a tablet, I believe the iPad will have a more far-reaching impact on the mobile computing market and all of Apple’s competitors.

What Apple did is nothing short of introducing a completely new concept of portable computing. The iPad clearly will work well in the slate or tablet mode. However, in that mode, it is mostly a device for accessing and viewing content. And contrary to what Steve Jobs says about the virtual keyboard being great for input, it is not very likely that people will use it for any serious data input while in the tablet mode. But they had three pieces of technology tied to it that does extend its functionality and allows it to deliver a completely new concept in portable computing.

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Innovation Abounds - CES 2010 Post Show Analysis

Written by Ben Bajarin

This year's CES was very interesting. I had felt for the past few years that CES was sorely lacking in the innovation department. But this year it looks like things have changed in the technology industry. Technology companies have realized that to reach the consumer the pace of innovation needs to accelerate, and this year's CES was a start in that direction.  Several things stuck out that I'd like to highlight:  

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10 tech Predictions for 2010

Written by Tim Bajarin

Every December I look forward to compiling a list of predictions for the coming calendar year. I have been doing this for almost 20 years now, and thanks to a combination of heavy researchand a little bit of luck, I've had a pretty high accuracy rate. Sure, there have been some misses in the past, but the majority have been on the money. Don't believe me? Check out last year's list.

Admittedly, my eighth prediction was off by a mile, but in my defense, I said it was an outrageous prediction, right off the bat. I predicted that Microsoft might get desperate and buy Research in Motion to shore up its smartphone business. That didn't happen, of course. It's still a tantalizing thought, though. Windows Mobilecontinued to lose major marketshare to RIM and Apple, and Microsoft is going to have to do something huge in the mobile space, if it's going to catch up. Windows Mobile 7.0 is supposed to be a major improvement when it comes out in 2010, but there's no sure bet that the company will be able to regain marketshare from Apple, RIM, and Google's Android.

 

But that's enough about 2009. Let's get onto my predictions for next year.

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