A $300 Price Tag Will Be A Problem For Samsung Galaxy Gear
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The Samsung Galaxy Gear Might Have A Pricing Problem (Business Insider)
The Samsung Galaxy Gear was officially announced today by Samsung. The smartwatch is set to hit stores in October at a lofty price of $299 - That's $200 more than we had estimated in our BI Intelligence smartphone forecast. We think this price is higher than the market will support. By contrast, Sony's smartwatch will sell for around $180 and may also come free with the Z1, the company's new smartphone - perhaps Samsung will announce a similar deal. Read more >
The Console Wars Are Coming Back With The Release of the Xbox One (Guardian)
Microsoft announced the release date, November 22, of its next generation console today for thirteen markets including North America and the UK. Interestingly, this straddles the release of Sony's Playstation 4 which will open in North America on the 15th of November and on November 29th in Europe. At $399 the Playstation 4 has a price advantage coming in $100 lower than its rival, but as in past consoles wars, demand is likely to be driven by the games themselves. Read >
iOS Loses Global Web Share (Statista)
Android devices accounted for 80% of global shipments last quarter, but iOS has still managed lead the industry in terms of mobile usage. This may be beginning to change. Year-over-year iOS lost 11% of global web share while Android gained 7%. iOS still leads by a healthy margin, however, with 55% of global web share versus Androids 28%. Read >
Another Straggler Leaves The Race For Smartphone Dominance (Reuters)
With Japanese consumers increasingly moving towards iPhones and the Samsung Galaxy series, Panasonic has realized it can no longer compete in that market. Panasonic held 19% of the Japanese market in 2001, making it the second largest handset maker in the country, but now only holds 7% market share. Smartphones will continue to sell under the Panasonic name, but manufacturing will be left to others. Read>
Mobile Now Accounts For 20% Of Global Web Traffic (Webcertain Group)
Webcertain Group surveyed mobile Internet behavior in 23 markets. India leads with 55% of its mobile web traffic coming from mobile devices. This is an extremely exciting market for mobile because only about 6% of India's 950 million mobile subscribers access the Internet via mobile handset, which leaves ample room for growth. Read>
Access To Your Data Offered By Acxiom May Be Too Good To Be True (NY Times)
Acxiom, a data broker, is offering to give anyone the power to access, edit, and delete personal data that the company holds on them in its database. The plan was seemingly conceived to get better data and provide greater transparency. Read >