Realme becomes seventh largest smartphone brand
China’s Realme smartphone brand was launched in 2018 by Sky Li, a former Oppo executive who determined that 18 to 25 year old were underserved by the established smartphone brands. He launched the brand by producing live rap events at college campuses in India. The new brand has sold more than 50 million handsets, mostly in India and China. TechCrunch
dis-rup-shun: The stories of marketing visionaries continues to amaze — seeing opportunities where others do not. It is the story of Ross Perot and EDS, of Apple’s early days, of countless fashion companies, of Nintendo, Tesla and Pepsi. Understanding consumers well enough to understand the marketing messages that most resonate with them results in grabbing market share from the incumbent providers, keeping the global economies vibrant, and creating new wealth.
Tech companies rush to IPO in late COVID period
The days of COVID-19 may be numbered, and a slue of tech companies that have thrived during the pandemic are lining up for an end of year public offering. The companies on deck include AirBnB, DoorDash, Affirm, Roblox, and Wish.
dis-rup-shun: The market is seeing near record breaking highs despite a spike in COVID across the U.S. With vaccines on the horizon, but not likely to be distributed for three to six months, companies that are capitalizing on the pandemic, providing services that are particularly important to a sheltered public must act quickly before they determine demnad in a post pandemic economy.
Understanding self-driving cars
To understand autonomous cars, one has to determine the level of autonomy being offered. Level 4 is a state in which we can choose to drive or sit and watch, whereas Level 5 is a state in which we don’t have the option to drive. As we move toward the Level 5 experience, we need to understand what’s offered today and what is next. The Society of Automotive Engineers has offered this following guide to understand the evolution of autonomy.
dis-rup-shun: Not only safety, but economics are tied to each level of autonomy. Hailing a driverless car via app or smart speaker likely relieves us of the burden of owning a car, but rather subscribing to a ride service. It seems logical that Amazon’s car service can pick us up moments after we ask Alexa to find a ride. Similarly, Apple and Google, who know where we are (or at least where our smartphones are) at any given moment will make certain that a car is nearby so that with a tap of the app, the car pulls up as we are ready. With our daily routines stored in their cloud, these tech giants will, with 90% accuracy, know when we want a car versus when we wish to walk.
The best smart thermostats
Smart thermostats arguably were the catalysts for the popularity of smart home products. As extensions of your smartphone, these devices not only increase convenience, but increase efficiency — saving your HVAC systems from running needlessly and ultimately saving money and energy. While the category leader was once Nest, CNET cites Ecobee as the top player, followed by Nest, and Resideo’s Honeywell.
dis-rup-shun: According to Interpret’s smart home market research, smart thermostats are now owned by 12% of U.S. consumers. While most people like the idea of saving energy, the increase in comfort and convenience, including easy integration with Google Nest Home or Alexa-powered devices, makes owning a smart thermostat a very simple, basic necessity. Consider a retrofit of your home thermostats as a smart holiday activity.