All eyes were on Apple this week, as the company made its much-anticipated announcement about the new iPhone 5 and other additions and revamps to its product and software line. Over at GigaOM Pro, our analysts and curators are looking beyond the news, focusing on potential disruptions in the mobile and consumer space, and looking at the future of collaborative consumption. Check out what has been trending on GigaOM Pro.
Note: GigaOM Pro is a subscription-based research service offering in-depth, timely analysis of developing trends and technologies. Visit pro.gigaom.com to learn more about it.
Cleantech: Adam Lesser
Opportunities and risks in the share economy
Is what we value in daily life inching toward connecting via online platforms and away from owning stuff?
Pro curator Adam Lesser analyzes the collaborative consumption market, currently dominated by companies like Airbnb and Zipcar. It’s an increasingly popular way to share ownership of everything from cars to office space. And while the car-sharing market is one of the most mature (GM has even built a RelayRides integration into its OnStar system), the share economy also includes opportunities for vacation rentals, pet-sitting, and even a shared global WiFi network. Lesser provides an overview of current market opportunities, and presents a set of recommendations and risk factors for companies and individuals looking to enter the collaborative consumption space.
Connected Consumer: Michael Wolf
Amazon’s disruptive timing
Is there room for both Apple and Amazon in the ebook space?
It’s almost too good to be just a coincidence – unless you’re Amazon. Just minutes before Jeff Bezos stepped on stage to announce Amazon’s new Kindle line last week, news broke from the ebook price-fixing suit against Apple and five major publishers. Among the many terms of the settlement, the Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins must terminate their e-book licensing contracts with Apple almost immediately. The announcement gave even greater weight to two of Amazon’s newest programs, Amazon Direct (the company’s self-publishing platform) and Kindle Serials. In the course of just one day, Amazon proved that it’s capable of disrupting the way that consumers read and buy content – what’s next?
Mobile: Colin Gibbs
Why Apple should walk away from its patent fight with HTC
What do you know about Apple’s patent fight with HTC?
On Wednesday, Apple announced the new iPhone 5, the first redesign of the handset in 2 years. Pro curator Colin Gibbs takes a look beyond the hype surrounding Apple’s big announcement. While he recognizes that the iPhone 5 (and iOS 6) represents a huge step for the smartphone market, the new device could trigger a new legal battle for Apple. While the company is certainly no stranger to patent wars, this time, it’s Apple that is being accused of patent infringement: HTC, the Taiwanese handset manufacturer, is accusing the Cupertino company of infringing on two patents regarding the transmission of data via LTE. As we’ve seen from the Samsung case, Apple certainly doesn’t lack the resources needed to fight this accusation, and Gibbs outlines the case for resolving the infringement battle, lest it taint the iPhone 5′s release and entry into the LTE market.
Social: David Card
Small steps forward for social media advertising
What else should social media companies do to accelerate ad revenue growth?
Pro curator David Card takes a look at the state of the social media ad landscape in his latest post. While “the industry hasn’t really figured out how to harness social media for brand advertising,” some of the biggest platforms are finally making a some progress towards capitalizing on algorithms and other semi-secret formulas to more effectively targets ads and measure the success of ad campaigns. While the social media ad space still ha a long way to go (especially compared to data behemoths like Google), it’s still a space that shows promise.
