Fortnite-loaded phones for sale on eBay
If you wanted to play Fortnite on your phone but, for some reason, didn’t have it downloaded before Apple and Google removed it from their app stores, eBay sellers are your friend. Phones with the app loaded are listed for hundreds to $10,000 dollars by sellers. Business Insider
dis-rup-shun: You have to love a free market, where people are free to spend big bucks to buy someone else’s phone, with someone else’s account which could be suspended at any moment and shut down by Apple or Google. Or perhaps you have to love the entrepreneurial spirit of consumers who were quick to think they have something of significant value. The beauty of the free market economy is on display at eBay, and the Boston Tea Party of our time is taking place before our eyes. Will it spark a revolution against the Kings of Tech, or will the rebels remain outcast from the halls of commerce? Stay tuned.
Apple becomes most valuable tech company
Apple’s market valuation hit $2 trillion this week. The company is now valued more than all but eight countries’ economies. Despite Coronavirus, sales of iPhone and subscriptions to services have thrived. The introduction of 5G capable iPhones, that can download content at 10x current speeds, is expected to touch off a wave of new phone sales. CNET
dis-rup-shun: Many of us recall the year, 1997, when Apple was out of cash and had become a bit of a joke. What company would seek to to offer an alternative against the wave of IBM PC compatibles, and hot companies such as Compaq and Sun Microsystems? Apple is a case study on focus, focus, focus.
Airbnb tests a shaky economy
Another COVID IPO is in the works as Airbnb has filed to launch a public offering amidst a revenue decline of 67%. The company has taken on significant debt to stay afloat, and valuation has fallen off its once lofty $31 billion. NYTimes
dis-rup-shun: With Apple having announced a stock split, and the number of trades being executed by millenials who have flocked to Robinhood to play in the market, breaking records, the time may be now for Airbnb, especially before the bubbling-hot market cools down.
Verizon puts a nail in the coffin of pay TV
Verizon, owners of FIOS TV, have declared the traditional pay TV model dead and cold, as it bundles Netflix, Disney +, and ESPN + into wireless subscription plans. The new plans don’t offer a termination date, moving the core component of video bundles from cable services to wireless phone services. CNBC
dis-rup-shun: Verizon’s move is a high stakes game of devaluing TV streaming to lure and keep subscribers on their wireless plan. While they aren’t the first wireless carrier to throw streaming into the package, they are upping the ante, challenging others to follow suit, changing the economics of streaming plans and finding creative ways not to compete by lowering the price of service plans.