Mr. Kenneth Eisner

GLG News by Mr. Kenneth Eisner, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Ma

GLG News is now G+ Insights

G+ is a community for professionals, academics and entrepreneurs to connect through online discussions and in-person meetings. You will continue to see G+ Insights (formerly GLG News) here as well as on the G+ website, where you can share and discuss the G+ Insights you read.

What VCs Should Invest In ... In this Economy

November 24, 2008

Analysis of:What Should Investors Do Now? | online.wsj.com

Consumers aren't in a buying mood this holiday, but there are opportunities for new companies.  I don't recommend the hi-tech plays that won't actualize for another decade, but rather look at some opportunities that should spark demand in a 1-3 year time frame.  Anyway, it is the holiday season, and nothing goes better under the Christmas tree than a fresh bowl of optimism.

Advice to RIM Blackberry: How to Attack Apple's B2C Advantage

November 24, 2008

Analysis of:BlackBerry maker battles back | money.cnn.com

RIM, like Nextel before the merger with Sprint, needs to move with lightning speed into the consumer arena.  Apple and Google have huge advantages in this arena, with greater consumer know-how and a marketing reach that blows RIM out of the water.  In this article, I look beyond RIM's new products to brainstorm some strategies that might be useful in this very difficult assault.

Big NTT DoCoMo Nets Google and LiMo: Microsoft and RIM Should be Worried

November 24, 2008

Analysis of: DoCoMo, KTF to sell Google phone next year: report | www.reuters.com

The roll-out of the Google phone into Japan, through the largest carrier in the country and one of the data innovators, is a shot across the bow of Microsoft, RIM, and Nokia.  It is impossible to stem the tide of the new OS mafia -- from Apple, Google, and LiMo -- but if Microsoft doesn't wake up quickly and radically re-invent, they will find themselves on the outside looking in.  Good for the consumer, bad for the complacent incumbents.

Higher-Pay Employees Most Likely to Leave Sprint

November 17, 2008

Analysis of:Sprint offers voluntary package to employees | www.fiercewireless.com

I don't think the Sprint voluntary package is going to draw mass defections.  The market is too weak, and options for the unemployed are not rosy.  However, on the margin, higher up employees might be the most likely to bolt, and this post goes through a theoretical breakdown.

PwC TV Ad Study Reaches Silly Conclusions: Branding isn't just TV Domain

November 14, 2008

Analysis of:Cutting TV advertising will harm your brand | www.mandmglobal.com

This PwC study really got me riled because it reflects a nonsensical version of the brand, one that can only be broadcast over the TV, that is just no longer true.  Sure, Comcast and Time Warner and ESPN may want you to believe it it true, but Google's interactive medium is the wave of the future, even the branding future.  The shift to interactive has been far too slow, and this study paints exactly the wrong picture.

HTC Google G1 not an iPhone: Will Cut Price Quickly

November 14, 2008

Analysis of: Report: G1 costs 10 percent less to make than iPhone | news.cnet.com

The release of the first "Google phone" certainly does not come at an ideal time, given the economic environment.  Sure, they can price high, then lower as everyone does.  However, the true measure of how long they can sustain the high price is looking at pent-up demand, which is done in this article.

Scrooge will Visit Apple and Dell for Xmas

November 14, 2008

Analysis of:Holiday shoppers like Apple and Dell | apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com

The ChangeWave survey paints an overly positive picture on Apple and Dell sales this year.  As Circuit City and Best Buy foreshadow, this holiday season will be awful for high-end products, especially those whose purchase can be forestalled.

I Bet Against Microsoft's Azure in Cloud War Against Amazon, Google, Sun, ...

October 31, 2008

Analysis of:Azure: Can Microsoft Meld Windows with the Web? | www.businessweek.com

Microsoft has a checkered history of product releases as of late -- from Vista to updated versions of Windows Mobile and Internet Explorer.  They seem to release minimal updates, expecting a non-demanding user not looking for vast improvements in user experience and features.  In the face of Google, Amazon.com, Sun, and others, they better overachieve with Azure, or they will face deep erosion of Windows within a few years.

Cox May Make Huge Mistake by Investing in Wireless

October 30, 2008

Analysis of:Cox to Enter Wireless Services in 2009 | www.businessweek.com

Cox must have something up their sleeve with wireless.  Otherwise, why would they become a Sprint MVNO, right on the heels of the huge flame-outs by Amped, Helio, Disney, and others?  Bundling surely can't be the only answer, as there has been precious little proof behind that strategy; there must be another reason.

Yahoo's Display Ad Nightmare and a Dismal Holiday to Come -- Bah Humbug

October 30, 2008

Analysis of:New ad cuts raise worries for Yahoo | www.livemint.com

Yahoo faces a miserable head wind entering this holiday season.  Retail marketers, those likely to drop big bucks around Turkey Day, are having a very bad Fall and may not chase the ghost of Christmas Future.  Yahoo's dependence on online display ad revenue could be disastrous for their holiday quarter.

Apple's Pricing Strategy will Face Problems this Holiday

October 29, 2008

Analysis of:Apple Holds Prices on Laptops - Computer Maker Refreshes MacBook Lineup | online.wsj.com

In just this instance, Apple's arrogance may be its undoing over the holiday season and into next year.  It is generally wise, and always tempting, to stay true to the brand, and, in Apple's case, deliver premium pricing on its premium product.  However, there are several pricing strategies that could maintain their brand and maximize revenue; arrogance is not that strategy.

Google, Apple, and Amazon.com are Best Bets to Weather the Recession Storm

October 29, 2008

Analysis of:Can Anything Derail Google's Growth Engine? | www.businessweek.com

Google will see slowing search business domestically, of course, but they continue to expand in other arenas that take advantage of their competitive positioning.  Like Amazon.com and Apple, they make moves based on the opportunity, even if the opportunity may not be apparent to the investment community.  These companies have an approach to innovation that is not arrogant, even though Bezos, Jobs, and Google have been accused of such; rather, it is pragmatic.

Sprint's WiMax Begins in Baltimore: Why Baltimore, you ask?

October 29, 2008

Analysis of:With UMB Left Behind, LTE and WiMAX Battle for 4G Supremacy | www.instat.com

The Baltimore Sprint deployment tells us a lot.  In many ways, it shows us the predominance of relationships and ease in choosing a locale as opposed to the attraction of the demographic; if the opposite was the case, Baltimore never would have been selected.  As for the LTE v WiMax debate, the winner likely will be determined as much is not more so by the companies who are executing the campaign (as Verizon with LTE and Sprint with WiMax) then by the technology itself.

Android's Risk Factors in Taking on Apple: Multiple Winners in the Wireless OS Battle

September 23, 2008

Analysis of:'Android' Cellphone to Showcase Google Brand | online.wsj.com

Google's Android starts with one big disadvantage -- time -- and one big advantage -- brand name.  But they are competing against another huge brand in Apple who also controlled the hardware and software.  Though this is directly in line with their strategy, they are leaving part of the OS war winner platform up to chance.

Apple iPhone is a Humongous, Game-Changer: Read this to Understand Why

August 1, 2008

Analysis of:Verizon Says iPhone Has Had Minimal Impact | www.ipodobserver.com

In this article, I discuss 10 points on why the Apple iPhone has made mobile / mobile Web / mobile commerce the most important opportunity of the coming year.  Whether it is the four "killer apps" on the iPhone, carrier disintermediation in tandem with Google, the speed to 4G, or the way it has made RIM, Palm, Verizon, and others change their strategy ... this product is revolutionalizing the way we look at wireless.  For years, we listened to the carriers and handset manufacturers say that we shouldn't build for the Web or convergence because consumers weren't using these elements, and now we know for sure that it is because that user experience wasn't ready for prime time.

Sprint's PTT, aka a return to 8-track tapes: Are you kidding me?

July 22, 2008

Analysis of:Consumer push-to-talk: Does anyone really care ‘where you at?’ | telephonyonline.com

In general, I think Sprint has made a never-ending flow of tragic mistakes since their merger with Nextel.  But I rarely see a mistake so obviously devoid of consumer misunderstanding that a PTT revival.  These guys need a suitor, fast.

10 Requirements to Reach Mobile Commerce Critical Mass because of Apple iPhone (and why the Nielsen report is dangerous)

July 22, 2008

Analysis of:Report: Mobile Internet use has reached "critical mass" | arstechnica.com

In this article, I give a preview of my 11 step analysis to mobile commerce usage, driven quickly forward by the introduction of the Apple iPhone, then adjust it slightly for mobile Internet.  But I was appalled by Nielsen's failure to be able to correctly parse the differences between the hideous UI (user interface) and consequent usage of the Motorola RAZR and the elegant Apple iPhone experience.

We Need Nokia: Innovation Central to Smartphone Growth and Apple iPhone Competition

July 22, 2008

Analysis of:Nokia Tries Apple's Tune | www.businessweek.com

Admittedly a next generation / innovation proponent, I have long held Nokia as my "old world" wireless players or those not named Apple or Google.  Nokia can combine great market presence with true software knowledge to compete in an ever-changing smartphone world.  Music may be a tough entry point, but it is also a necessary facet to a convergent device; I applaud Nokia's efforts, even if the model with Warner may be flawed.

Sprint Acquisition by SK Telekom or Deutsche Telekom Spells Disaster, Unless They Ask the Experts

July 22, 2008

Analysis of:SK Telecom Should Hang Up on Sprint | blogs.wsj.com

Sprint completely missed the ball on their acquisition of Nextel, resulting in an awful acquisition that also laid waste to the main brand.  Now, SK Telekom or Deutsche Telekom is poised to do exactly the same thing.  You want due diligence, come to the true experts for answers.

Yahoo's Pain is Micosoft's (and of course Google's) Gain

May 12, 2008

Analysis of:Yahoo under pressure after deal collapse | www.ft.com

Sure, Google gets the best out of the deal with a weakened Yahoo and a non-strengthened Microsoft, but I'm not sure if this deal would have been good for Microsoft anyway.  They showed a lack of brutish eagerness that has hurt Yahoo, near fatally, and that hurt could help Microsoft climb up the search ladder at Yahoo's expense.

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