August 2020 - Page 2 of 2 -

Teledoc becomes first health tech giant

First true health tech giant is born

Teledoc, one of the largest remote care companies is acquiring diabetes management giant, Livongo, for $18.5 billion. The combined company is expected to reach $1.3 billion in revenues this year as remote care is surging. Livongo relies heavily on coaches and a line of glucose monitors to help employers help their employees manage diabetes. Teledoc’s 70 million customer reach expands Livongo’s care potential. Stat

dis-rup-shun: The remote care model, in place for half a dozen years or more, is surging as a result of the pandemic. Remote care is a big win for consumers, as convenience is a bonus, and a win for doctors, who are able to see more patients via telehealth. Employers are winners in that the cost of care and ability to access the right care quickly helps keep people on the job.

Disney Plus exceeds expectations and takes second place

Disney executives forecasted that the new streaming service would reach 60 million to 90 million subscribers by 2024. On Tuesday, the company announced that it had reached 60 million subscribers. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: The Mouse continues to surprise, as a dip in theme park attendance seems to be offset by a smash new streaming video service that is doing what no one expected — gaining on Netflix as a strong second place provider. Disney executives earned their stars by launching special features such as Star Wars’ Mandalorian and then the broadcast of Hamilton. Expect another surprise soon that will entice even more people to sign up for the service.

Cadillac unveils Lyric: the future of driving

Watch out Elan, Cadillac is about to leapfrog electric cars with its 300 mile range Lyric SUV. This is the future of cars and the future of GM, a company that is pulling ahead of Ford and Chrysler’s EV development. The Lyric styling is very impressive as is its environmentally responsible, fast-charging battery system, its 33 inch curved display screen, and Super Cruise self-driving mode. CNET

dis-rup-shun: While price was not revealed, this is the EV to have. Early photos of this sophisticated SUV will engage a new audience that wasn’t excited about Cadillac and will be a strong competitor to those considering a Tesla.

Uber beats expectations on bad quarter

Uber’s Q2 revenue declined 28% but beat analyst expectations. The ride sharing business was off by 73% over last year, but the food delivery business was up 113%. Food delivery has moved from luxury to necessity, and the company beat analyst expectations as a result. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: The pandemic may be exactly what Uber needed to reshape its business, reduce costs, and find the profit in the drivers for hire business. In another diversification move, the company purchased a European taxi software company. Expect Uber to be a much more efficient company post-pandemic.

Consumer Electronics, IOT, Smart Home

Black Girls Code to train a million girls

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Black Girls Code

One national study determined that black females comprise only 3.1% of computing jobs in 2019. Kimberly Bryant formed the organization Black Girls Code to teach 1 million girls to code by 2040. The organization was founded in 2011. CNET

dis-rup-shun: Among the many great promises that Bryant’s organization provides, one is to fix the problem of facial recognition. The potentially highly useful technology has been scuttled by major tech companies due to the inherent racial bias determined to be a part of the technology. In short, a technology developed by mostly white programmers has been tested by mostly white testers, resulting in code that works mostly well on white populations, but not well with other races.

Examining evidence against Big Tech

CNBC does a great deal of digging through the more than one million documents collected by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on antitrust. The excerpts provide direct evidence of BigTech execs making defensive and offensive moves to thwart smaller competitors, such as Diapers.com, WeChat and Yelp, to name a few.

dis-rup-shun: Despite the revealing documents, drawing the line between operating a competitive business and using unfair advantage may, in some cases be difficult. Amazon looks more guilty than Facebook. And Google looks more guilty than Apple. Nonetheless, it is clear that these giants need a big babysitter to remind them of the rules of commerce and when they are stepping over the lines.

EU puts Google’s acquisition of Fitbit on hold

In other antitrust news, the EU commission on competition is investigating the proposed $2.1 billion merger of Fitbit with Google, expressing concerns of data privacy. TechCrunch

dis-rup-shun: The EU has long been very aggressive in protecting the data privacy of its citizens, having created the GDPR standards for data privacy over a year ago. Google will likely make some assurances on how and where Fitbit user data is stored, and will likely satisfy the EU commission and move forward with the merger, and continuing its efforts to catch up with the Apple Watch, which is dominating the wearables market.

Sorting out the home security confusion

Our friends at CNET have done a nice job of explaining the growing confusion that is home security. There are DIY systems that are self-monitored, those that include pro-monitoring and there are professionally installed pro-monitored systems, and drawing the line between the categories is more difficult. In a pair of reviews, the CNET team lists the best DIY systems as SimpliSafe, Abode, Nest Secure, Ring Alarm. Other mentions include Honeywell Smart Home Security System, Scout Alarm and ADT/SmarThings Starter Kit. The editors also list the best pro-installed systems, and Comcast Xfinity wins that race.

dis-rup-shun: I will be discussing the differences in home security and smart home buyer segments in a presentation next week to the Security Industry Associations webinar. Anyone is welcome to attend if they register here.

Consumer Electronics, IOT, Smart Home

Tablet sales surge in pandemic

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Q2 tablet sales up to 26%

According to Canalsys, sales of tablets rose 26% in Q2. The iPad was the biggest winner, shipping 14 million units, but others including Samsung, Amazon, Lenovo and Huawei benefited as well. CNET

dis-rup-shun: In uncertain times, when working and schooling from home are critical for survival, yet the paycheck is uncertain, the tablet provides a cost-effective substitute to computers, TVs and game consoles. The pandemic is just the accelerent required by many industries to have a record quarter, just as many are barely surviving.

Microsoft’s xCloud game service is $15 per month

Microsoft seeks to become the Netflix of games with its xCloud service at $15 per month, or free to those that already subscribe to the company’s Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. The new service expands game play to Android mobile devices and will eventually be available on Windows PCs. The service provides unlimited access to over 100 games including “Destiny 2,” “Gears of War 5,” “Grounded” and “Halo 5. To accompany the service a number of third parties have built mobile game controller cradles that convert mobile phones to handheld gaming devices with easily accessible sticks and buttons. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: Cloud gaming services will seek to appeal to a larger gamer population — one that is less likely to spend the money on Xbox consoles or games. In the “as a service” economy, consumers are accustomed and seemingly willing to make long term, small payments for unlimited services as shown by the success of video streaming and music streaming, not to mention monthly shaving or clothing subscription services.

Google’s augmented reality brings insects and animals into your home

Google is quietly building a case for AR, a technology that holds much promise but few applications. Using Google’s AR technology on Android devices, one can add many dozens of insects, felines, and exotics in 3D to their home and to photos — spicing up selfies and family portraits. TheVerge

dis-rup-shun: AR will find a place in our everyday lives, likely in maps and navigation, and then for shopping for products. For now, however, creating lifelike 3D creatures in our photos is a good demonstration of the technology in an educational and entertainment setting. With people spending so much quality time with themselves, why not enjoy the animal kingdom and increase your appreciation for nature?

Google’s Pixel 4A top of class

For an Android phone that rivals $1000 plus phones, this model has a number of industry leading features at a price of $349. The product has a leading camera, a sharp OLED screen, a headphone jack, and a very slim case. Wired

dis-rup-shun: Differentiating a $1000 phone over rivals at half he price or less will become more and more difficult for Samsung and Apple. Apple has the advantage of an ecosystem of popular products and apps, that, for the Apple faithful, simply can’t be substituted for Android products. For the rest of the pack, it is a race to the bottom as big players such as Google drop prices to gain market share. The smartphone business is looking a lot like he PC business of a decade ago.

Consumer Electronics, IOT, Smart Home

TikTok survives the weekend as Microsoft chats with White House

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TikTok survives the weekend — fate still uncertain

TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has been declared, by President Trump, banned from operating in the U.S. Watchers expected the service to be shut down over the weekend, but news of acquisition by Microsoft were confirmed on Sunday. Microsoft hopes to conclude a deal by September 15th. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: Microsoft has, with the exception of its Xbox division, been focusing on corporate and cloud-based computing. The company shut down its Mixer video game streaming service in June, encouraging users to shift to Facebook. Acquisition of TikTok would be Microsoft squarely in the social network business, in competition with Facebook. The move will be good for Facebook in the midst of anti-trust proceedings by Congress, as it will provide the company with an acceptable competitor that does not play in this space, possibly lessening pressure on Facebook. If Microsoft pays a market fee to ByteDance, then everyone may be a winner, with ByteDance’s investors making a large return, TikTok users continuing to enjoy the service, Microsoft gaining a lucrative business unit, and POTUS ensuring that exploitation of U.S. user data occurs only on U.S. soil.

Google buys stake in home security leader, ADT

ADT is the largest provider of professionally monitored home security services in the U.S. Google, with its Nest brand of smart thermostats, cameras and smart speakers/displays has been selling into homes mostly through retail and HVAC channels. Google’s investment of $450 million for 6.6% of ADT portends of Google products being sold through ADT’s team of salespeople and installers across the U.S. CNBC

dis-rup-shun: This move by Google could be the end of speculation regarding BigTech’s role in professionally installed security. For several years, the industry has been wondering when and how the giants will engage the pro-installed segment. With this partnership, Google can move directly into the professional channel, securing a share of the devices installed in each new home or small business served by the nation’s largest sales and installation team. The Google Nest Home Hub line could eventually serve as an alternative to the ADT “panel” — the heart and brain of a home security system. These components are currently supplied by Resideo (hardware) and Alarm.com (software). With its investment, Google will begin to enjoy a small share of the millions in recurring monthly revenues generated by ADT and can begin to edge out Amazon’s Alexa voice technology which is baked into ADT’s Command system. Declaring that Google will use the home security system to take over the entire home ecosystem and disrupt the current pro-install channel is premature, as there are many hurdles to doing so. What cannot be underestimated, however, is the ability to leverage Google’s advances in AI and cloud technology to offer a home automation and security system that is much smarter than anything in the field, including facial recognition, false alarm detection, smartphone integration, and “community monitoring.” The parties that will sleep less, as a result of this partnership, are Alarm.com and Resideo.

Bob and Doug splash down

The SpaceX and NASA team launch and recovery of astronauts to the International Space Station concluded on Sunday with a perfect landing. After 63 days in space, the two “Space Dads,” as they have become known, landed off the coast of Pensacola to a waiting gallery of private fishing and pleasure boats. The intact Dragon capsule was loaded onto a recovery ship where the space travelers were removed and whisked to the Pensacola Naval Air Station via helicopter. New York Times

dis-rup-shun: The flawless mission is an unmistakable and significant victory for many parties. First, for NASA and the U.S. Government, as it successfully selected, regulated and orchestrated a private third party in one of the largest private/public missions ever, demonstrating that the agency can work with a flashy and bold company such as SpaceX in a restrained, disciplined and safe manner. Secondly, this is, of course, a triumph for Elon Musk and his SpaceX team, as they have demonstrated their ability to send humans to space and return them very safely. Musk’s bold claims of frequent commercial flights to space and Mars landings seem much closer now. Finally, the mission was a great victory for technology. The Dragon craft, like a Tesla, is highly automated with elegant glowing touch screens that seem to suggest that the astronauts are simply there to watch the automation from a gaming chair. The fact that the mission performed flawlessly and to precise timings and landing points is confirmation that today’s technology, while not perfect, is astonishingly accurate.