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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. 

Creative Strategies - Strategic Thinking

Apple's iPad and its Impact on Competitors

Thursday, 11 March 2010 12:09

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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Use Case Computing - How Consumers Approach Products

Thursday, 11 March 2010 12:09

We have been writing and talking with our clients for at least a few years now about this idea of purpose-built computing. The general idea is that consumer electronics hardware OEM’s and ODM’s need to think more about the purpose of the product and begin making decisions at the component level which accomplish that purpose. 

 

Another great way of thinking about this is outlined by Scott Anthony, co-founder of Innosight, in his latest book “The Silver Lining.”  He outlines in chapter two a concept that explains that consumers don’t buy products, they hire them to get jobs done. This is an excellent way to think about the value needed in a product as well as think through the task or tasks it is being hired for to get the job done. This job can be e-mail, mobile web surfing, entertainment, information, and more, but the point is consumers hire products to get jobs done and there are

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Next Clash of Titans: Microsoft vs. Adobe

Thursday, 11 March 2010 12:09

Microsoft’s battles over the years, with companies like Apple, Sun and most recently Google, are the stuff of software legend. The next competitor to visit the woodshed: Adobe.

Microsoft is the largest software company in the world and its products touch the lives of millions of consumers and businesspeople each day. Despite its dominance, Microsoft still faces very tough software competition from many different directions.

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