Bloomberg Business ran an article yesterday on the dilemna many residents of Israel face when ordering items online. Namely, expensive shipping fees and relatively long wait times reduce much of the incentive to order locally. Instead, the article asserts that many Israelis turn to foreign sellers – Amazon, eBay, and Alibaba chief among them – whose … Continue reading Small Country, Big Retailers, Few Options
Walt Mossberg wrote a column in Re/Code last week, highlighting what I’ve often felt: The iPhone is the best phone on the market (and its desktop hardware often among the best), but Apple’s own apps are pretty subpar. He cites iTunes for desktop, as well as Mail, Photos, and iCloud more broadly. Mossberg writes: I hold … Continue reading Dented Apples
The Times ran an article yesterday, speculating that Amazon may be looking to open more brick-and-mortar bookstores, to complement the one it built a few months ago: The Internet retailer plans to open more brick-and-mortar bookstores following the unveiling last year of one such location here in its hometown, according to a person briefed on … Continue reading Amazon’s Offline Expansion
On Wednesday, Facebook announced a substantial increase in revenue, earning $5.8 billion in Q4, and reaching nearly 1.6 billion users. What struck me was how deeply certain Facebook products – which until somewhat recently had been just side features – are now both intrinsic to its growth strategy and a direct threat to many of … Continue reading Out-Googling Google
It seems that everyone – news outlets, sportscasters, poets, comedians and companies – is podcasting. How many people are profiting is another question, but, as The Economist pointed out this week, podcasting is in the midst of yet another renaissance: It is hard to identify the moment when podcasting took off, because it keeps having them. In … Continue reading Everybody’s Podcastin’
The New York Times ran two articles this weekend, each one exploring an emerging class of Uber driver. The first article, from January 22nd, is titled “Older Drivers Hit the Road for Uber and Lyft,” and addresses, as you might expect, the increasing number of Baby Boomers who drive for app-based ridesharing services to supplement their income. … Continue reading Ubers, Ubers, Everywhere
I got an email early this morning from Starbucks, announcing that I could now take the sounds of my nearest coffeehouse on the road with me, thanks to the company’s newly-inked partnership with Spotify. As a devotee of Starbucks and an avid Spotify listener, this update means I have one more avenue in which to binge on … Continue reading Starbucks Loves Uber Loves Spotify
Whatsapp, the popular messaging service owned by Facebook, announced that it will drop its $1 annual subscription fee, and instead make money on helping build business relationships between consumers and companies. This strategy is identical to Facebook’s evolution of Messenger, which now incorporates customer service capabilites, mobile payments, and other non-chat services. Whatsapp founder Jan Koum noted that the company will … Continue reading Whatsapp is Free
Under Armour recently premiered a new fitness package called HealthBox, as part of a new chapter in the company’s Connected Health initiative. The package – whose gadgets are manufactured by smartphone maker HTC – includes a wi-if connected scale, sneakers (one shoe contains a little tracking pod), a heart rate chest strap, and a wristband activity … Continue reading Connected Health
Within the past few days, two large car manufacturers have announced significant investments into companies that may, if successful, reduce actual car ownership. General Motors has invested in ridesharing startup Lyft, and Audi has put money into premium car rental service Silvercar. GM announced that it was putting $500 million into Lyft, valuing the company at $5.5 … Continue reading Looking Down the Road
Silicon Spatula 