Poor HTC. The Taiwanese smartphone company released its dismal Q4 2012 results this morning, chalking up $34 million in profit, a tiny fraction compared to the $2 Billion in revenue it earned Q4 2011. Mashable reports that HTC’s share of the US smartphone market shrunk from 10.3% at this time last year to 4% today. … Continue reading HTC Could Use a Little TLC
Here at Ben & David, we’re pretty tolerant of most things. We don’t mind if you’re short or tall, Democratic or Republican, fans of Michael Bay films or just people who like movies with substance. However, we have a low tolerance for smartphone foibles, and chief among them, the Android industry’s insistence on using virtually pornographic names for their phones. Samsung, it’s been pointed out, makes great phones – Ben owns a Galaxy SII – but does an awful job naming them. In fact, the company’s greatest coup in 2012 was likely shifting their marketing parlance from”Galaxy S III” to simply “GS3.” Short, sweet, and totally appropriate for children under age 17.
Continue reading “The Samsung Galaxy Note II is So Big, It’s Stupid”
My official Android gripe of the day is autocorrect. I am not sure why, after five years of development and feedback from hundreds of millions of users, Android still does not automatically correct “Its” to “It’s.” I’d wager that 70% of “its” usage is in contraction, not object-possession, form. And yet, somehow, the error persists. … Continue reading Dear Android, Its About Time We Had This Talk
In the last few months, Apple has made two critical changes that reflect a shift away from its Jobs-era stance on hardware, and a compelling reorientation of its software. Continue reading “Threats and Adaptations”
Some of you may recall our brief piece several weeks ago, where we wondered whether Microsoft is guerilla marketing the Surface. Thanks to Apple Insider, we now know that it is. Just thought we’d say “toldja so.” Continue reading Microsoft is Guerilla Marketing the Surface
Facebook posted its first ad this morning, depicting, among other things, chairs, airplanes and bridges – in short, the things that connect us. The minute-and-a-half long spot, produced by Wieden+Kennedy, places gentle violin strings over images that are both urban and rural, developed and developing, young and old – all of them rather banal. The … Continue reading The Facebook Ad
I think it’d be a cool extension of the whole crosshatching theme. Just saying. Continue reading Microsoft Should Totally Do a Hashtag-Windows Campaign
There seems to be nothing new under the sun – er, fire, that is. Mercedes-Benz just unveiled a fiery brushstroke design that its marketing gurus have dubbed “Aesthetics S.” Interestingly, the whole fiery car outline motif seems to have been begun by Infiniti last year, under the marketing tagline of “Inspired Performance.” Compare the designs … Continue reading Brushstrokes
I walked past this rather corporate graffiti yesterday in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Is Microsoft taking a Banksy-esque approach to on-the-street advertising? Or is someone just putting Windows on the wall? Would love your thoughts. Continue reading Is Microsoft Guerilla Marketing the Surface?
We’ve employed our literary chops to write a brief, preemptive eulogy for RIM, in the style of John Milton’s Lycidas. Enjoy.
Continue reading “A Hymn for RIM: John Milton Does a Preemptive Eulogy for Blackberry”
Silicon Spatula 