Samsung Targets a Big Comeback after Note 7 Disastrous Failure

Samsung Electronics Co LTD vowed to recover from the recent disastrous withdrawal of its Galaxy Note 7 that dragged their earnings to the lowest level in nearly eight years.

The technology giant has released statements about expanding its investigation about Note 7’s exploding battery and assured its investors they would get to the bottom of one of the worst technological failure in history.

Co-Chief Executive J.K. Shin said at a general meeting in Seoul, “We know we must work hard to earn back your trust and we are committed to doing just that.”

Investors voted on Thursday to make Samsung Group’s de facto chief, Jay Y. Lee, as Samsung Electronics director in response to the Note 7 battery failure.

Jay Lee, son of the infamous Lee Kun-hee will now play a bigger role at the group’s flagship company. He also plays a public role in setting strategy.

Chief Executive Kwon Oh-hyun said at the shareholder meeting that they would assign a new role only after the investigation is finished.

Samsung, the world’s top smartphone maker plunged 96% in their third-quarter earnings, a loss of almost 100 billion won ($87.63 million). This is their lowest level since 2008.

The mass pull out of Galaxy Note 7 resulted to -0.1% to -0.2% points from South Korea’s third-quarter GDP growth in quarterly terms, a finance ministry official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The company blames Samsung SDI Co Ltd, who supplied batteries for the first Note 7 recall. The subsidiary reported an 110 billion won operations loss for the third quarter.

Apple Inc, Samsung’s main rival aimed to achieve a fourth-quarter profit close to October-December of 2015, on the back of sales of Galaxy S7 phones and lower-tier models.

“Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the company expects earnings to improve (from a year earlier) driven by strong performance in the components business,” Samsung said in a statement.

Samsung sees another $3.1 billion hit to profit with the Note 7 withdrawal through the first quarter of 2017.

Software issues may also exist

The company is still investigating what caused the Note 7 fire.  This is because replacements for the initial 2.5 million Note 7’s it recalled was due to fire-prone batteries.
Co-CEO Shin said the battery might not be the only problem. Consequently, they are now looking into software issues to determine the root cause.

Rattled investors now want a concrete plan on how to revive the company’s earnings, repair its major brand, and boost shareholder returns.

LS Asset Management fund manager Kim Sung-soo said, “The key is whether Samsung will be able to remove the uncertainty surrounding the Note 7 and maintain its leading position in the smartphone market.”

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iPhone 7 Shortage to Cause Huge Profit Loss for Apple

A miscalculation for the demand of iPhone 7 Plus this Holiday Season caused Apple to lose a huge amount of profits. Apple Inc. forecasted demand of the particular model fell short this year, unaware of the number of people who intends to buy their iPhone 7 Plus.

According to Mariann Montagne, Apple’s projected value of demands for the holiday quarter fell from 38% to 38.5%, but the actual value is at 39%. Montagne is the senior investment analyst and portfolio manager at Gradient Investments.

The reason for the surge of consumers who wanted to get their hand on the newest, biggest smartphone out in the market is not yet apparent. The company is looking at the customers they gained after the failed launched of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7. These are the unanticipated numbers of consumers which they had gained over their rival company.

Luca Maestri, Apple Chief Financial Officer said in a Reuters interview that it was “impossible to know” the effect of the Galaxy Note 7 recall.

Earlier in this month, Samsung recalled all of their Galaxy Note 7 handsets because of the battery defects which caused the explosions. Based on the South Korean company investigation, Note 7s are even more vulnerable to catch fire when it is charging. The company ultimately stopped the production their Note 7s.

Holiday shopping spree

Apple’s Chief Executive, Tim Cook said on Tuesday that the company is uncertain if they can mass produce the iPhone 7 Plus. The demand is too high to furnish the remaining order in time for the Christmas shopping rush. Furthermore, Maestri added that “We cannot fulfill all the demand that is out there right now,”

Cook said that the company is overwhelmed by the imminent demand, “particularly on the iPhone 7 Plus versus our forecast going into the product launch”, as the company compares their projected assessment prior to the launch. He also added that the company will just need to manage to the smaller version of the handset model, the iPhone 7.

Disappointed Investors

In the mobile business world, “the bigger phones bring bigger profits” is the magic formula for success.

In the quarterly earnings report on Tuesday, Apple’s investors raised their concern over the company’s miscalculations on the demand. John Jackson, an IDC analyst said, “You’re not able to get that product into the hands of the person who wants it right here, right now. Those are dollars not in your hands.”

On September 7, California-based Company, Cupertino launched its newest iPhones. The iPhone 7 Plus model has a 5.5-inch (14 cm) dual camera on the back, the first kind of its breed. It features a better quality for portrait shots and can be zoomed further away.

Jan Dawson, the analyst for Jackdaw Research said, “It’s inherently tough to know how things like new finishes and features are going to affect demand for a new model”.

According to him, Apple is still learning how the consumer reacts to new features of larger and smaller phones. This was apparent when the company produced only two competitive sizes back in 2014.

Quality over quantity

For analysts, rushing mass production of the unit would be difficult if not nearly impossible. Trip Chowdhry, the managing director of Global Equities Research said that the “company cannot contract new suppliers, hire more workers and open factories overnight”.

He also added, “You can’t just shoot iPhones out of an assembly line at the speed of a bullet”. While pointing out that, “Apple does things to perfection. There is no need to rush and create an inferior product the way Samsung did.”

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Amazon’s new music streaming service challenges Apple and Spotify

Amazon.com unveiled a full-fledged music streaming service on Wednesday. Owners of its Amazon Echo speaker can subscribe to the service for as low as $3.99 per month. It fast-tracks the industry trend to more variable pricing after years of sticking to $9.99 subscriptions.

Similar to Apple Music and Spotify, the new streaming service, dubbed “Amazon Music Unlimited”, allow users access a massive catalog of songs on demand. To play music on the Echo, subscriptions cost $3.99 per month. Members of Amazon’s Prime shipping and video service would have to pay $7.99 while non-members’ subscription cost is $9.99 per month. In addition, Prime members will have limited streaming service for free.

Amazon is counting on the Echo to set it apart as it delves deeper into the packed streaming arena. The Echo is a smart speaker that responds to voice commands. It has become a surprise hit since its launch last year. Further, the smart speaker’s release has prodded many to predict that voice will become an essential way users interact with technology.  Music provides the key to the device’s attraction.

Amazon Music vice president Steve Boom said that the company has created an intricate system of voice controls for listening on the Echo. Also, Amazon believes that such smart home devices will be a main source of development for the music industry.

The low price for Amazon’s streaming service is consistent with the company’s standing for challenging the competition. This goes to show that the music industry is beginning to accommodate consumers who are reluctant to $9.99 per month. Label executives have been hesitant to budge on price having seen revenues plunge from the CD era. But they have come under pressure as streaming accounts for majority of the profit.

In a business model that requires streaming services to pay majority of their revenues to rights holders, Pandora and Spotify are straining to turn a profit. Amazon, however, can afford to accept a loss on music streaming, and the support to Prime is well worth it.

Jackdaw research analyst said that the premium music service suggests Amazon will progressively offer basic media options through Prime. At the same time, peddling supplementary subscriptions for customers who want to go deeper.

“It’s just making Prime that much stickier,” he said.

AI as attraction

Amazon is confident that the artificial intelligence will keep users tuned in. The company has incorporated artificial intelligence into the system. Consequently, this makes it possible for consumers to ask for songs that fit a certain mood or search with lyrics.

“You can ask for Michael Jackson by saying, ‘Play music by the King of Pop,’” Amazon Music director Kintan Brahmbhatt said. “It’s smart enough to know that’s what you meant.”

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Candle that smells like a new Apple Mac sells out in two hours

A colleague of mine has a bizarre ritual that he takes part in each time he opens a new Apple product…

He spends an extraordinarily long time sniffing the box it came in. Whether it is a new iPhone, iPad or MacBook, the ritual is the same; open the box, take out the product, sniff the box, start using product.

I am reminded of this because it seems that my colleague is not alone. The distinctive new Apple product smell is something which, it would appear, is enjoyed by fans of the technology giant the world over.

Apple accessory company Twelve South is clearly aware of this trend too because it has just brought out a candle which smells like a freshly unboxed Mac.

Sold out

They are clearly onto something here, because their entire stock of the $24 candle sold out within two hours of going on sale. (New stock is expected later this month.)

The 100% soy wax candle has scents of mint, peach, basil, lavender, mandarin, and sage.

When combined these ingredients are said to produce that distinctive Mac smell and with a burn time of around 55 hours that could be two whole days of having your office, living room or bedroom smelling like an Apple store.

It would seem that when Twelve South carried out research before taking the product to market and discovered that a lot of Apple customers admitted to “shyly sniffing” their new product after opening it.

I asked my Apple sniffing colleague about this and he replied: “I am not really a big scented candle fan – in fact I have never bought a scented candle in my life.

“This, however, is the only scented candle I would consider buying. That new Apple product smell is so appealing…there is nothing else like it.”

 

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Google Goes Head-To-Head With Apple and Amazon With New Hardware

Google announced on Tuesday a new Pixel smartphone, a smart speaker for the living room called “Home”. A slew of new consumer electronics products for the home were also available.

The announcement is a clear indication that the company plans to contend head on with Apple, Amazon, and even manufacturers of phones using its own Android operating system.

Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh said that if they can work on hardware and software together, they could innovate much better. This is very much like Apple’s established philosophy of tighter integration between hardware and software.

Google designed and developed the Pixel phones from the beginning, unlike previous efforts under the Nexus brand. However, they awarded the manufacturing contract to HTC Corporation of Taiwan.

Echoing another of Apple’s strategy, Google said it would operate exclusively with a single carrier in the United States. The Pixel will launch under Verizon Communications much like Apple’s deal with AT&T when the original iPhone launched. The agreement gave Apple unmatched influence over the look of the phone and how it worked.

The phone comes in two sizes and, according to industry analyst Patrick Moorehead, aside from the high-end camera, the Pixels are very similar to Samsung and iPhone seventh generation phones.

Analysts added that Google’s new phones obviously intended to compete with the iPhone, though promoting its own hardware would likely confound its relationship with Android licensees such as Samsung and LG.

Google’s voice activated AI system

Google opened the event Tuesday by flaunting the Google Assistant. The company’s answer to Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri is a voice-activated artificial intelligence system. It can make a restaurant reservation with just a few phrases spoken into the phone. The presenter demonstrated this feature during the event.

The assistant is being positioned as the focal element in a line of integrated hardware and software products. It will be embedded into the Pixel and Home products.

The “Home” speaker system is very much comparable to Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo home speaker system, likely having many similar features.

Meanwhile, Google’s Daydream View virtual reality headset sets the company against Facebook’s Oculus. The device, which will be available in November for $79, is far cheaper and simpler.

Home will also be available in November for $129.

Other products unveiled during the event included a new version of Google’s Chromecast digital media player and a wifi router called Google Wifi.

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A Pen, an Apple, a Pineapple. . . And a Song that You Can’t get Rid Off in your Head

A video circulating the net and has gone viral has been hyped by some as the next YouTube sensation. After viewing the video, it will surely make no sense to you. . . And yet the song would still linger on in your head long after you’ve watched it.

The song is as infectious as it gets. Titled ‘PPAP’ (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen), the song was performed by Japanese entertainer Kazuhiko Kosaka under the guise of a fictional character Piko Taro. “PPAP” already has more than 4 million views on YouTube since it was posted in August.

The video is about a minute long and the lyrics feature pens, apple and pineapples being combined which absolutely makes no sense. The video also shows Piko Taro wearing a dress with mixed animal prints dancing in a rhythmic way that is simply hilarious.

While the original PPAP video has reached more than 4 million views, the Facebook video by 9GAG has drawn in more than 44 million views already.

the song PPAP goes like this:

“I have a pen. I have an apple. Apple-pen!

I have a pen. I have [a] pineapple. Pineapple-pen!

Apple-pen. Pineapple-pen. Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen.”

Which really does not make any sense at all. . . However, the video still gets viewed. . . and is now an internet sensation. . . Want to find out why?

See for yourself, watch the video below and let the song and the moves creep into you subconscious.

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