With the recent Google I/O developers conference, there’s been no shortage of coverage of the mobile sector which is reflected in this blog posting. You will also find a critical look at the sharing economy, shopping malls, teens use of social media and the use of longform advertising among other matters.
Figures from PWC forecast that the UK economy will retain its strength over the next fifteen years driven by a less rapidly ageing population and strong labour force participation when compared to its European counterparts.
April Siese takes a critical look at the sharing economy, pointing out that the benefits are likely to be unequally distributed:
Sharing-economy supporters see services as ways to disrupt the currently ineffective system, though their attempts are firmly targeted at a demographic with a disposable income—and with little regard for the underserved communities that they’re affecting.
James Greiff looks at the decline of the shopping mall in the US, pointing to the growth of ecommerce and social media’s role as social media as meeting place.
Monitise have pulled together a report looking at the growing use of mobile technologies and associated financial services globally, with a particular focus on UK and USA. 
Digital identity is growing in importance as consumers look to means of connecting a growing array of digital devices and services. In the UK the Government Digital Service is pushing forward with its Identity Assurance programme using third parties to authenticate consumers’ identity. Bob O’Donnell profiles current attempts in a sector that is still only in its early stages of development.
As more of our reading shifts to smartphones, Kevin Roose points to the book as becoming increasingly marginalised as we move away from the printed words and ereaders:
The silver lining of the app-ification of books is that it has increased the potential audience for e-books. Now, everyone with a smartphone has the ability to download and read any e-book from any publisher with a few taps. The bad news is that, if current trends hold, fewer and fewer people will have a device that is strictly for reading. Books are becoming just another app, and the publishing industry’s glorious e-reader future seems to be fading from view.
Bob Lefsetz looks to the future of the music industry as it continues its inexorable move from ownership to streaming.
Kantar have a web resource which allows users to assess changes in smartphone OS market share over time in key markets including UK, France, Germany, USA, China and Japan. BGR reports on collapsing market share on the part of Windows Phone which is looking less and less like a contender in the smartphone marketplace.
Providing a contrasting approach is Benedict Evans who looks at the marketshare of different mobile operating systems across different market types as well as comparing mobile app revenues from iOS and Android.
Ben Bajarin contrasts the different approaches of Apple and Google in the smartphone marketplace.
To put it simply, Google’s strategy is dumb glass + smart cloud. Apple’s strategy is smart glass + deep cloud integration/synchronization. This is the clear departure in hardware philosophy the two companies will take. And it will dictate the types of customers each ecosystem has.
In a related piece, Benedict Evans takes a critical look at Amazon and Facebook’s attempts to take a more involved role in the mobile ecosystem.
Samsung is likely to feel the financial squeeze as it faces increasing competition from emerging Android handset manufacturers and an inability to deliver differentiation in other parts of the mobile value chain according to Jan Dawson.
The launch of the Amazon Fire Phone has left a few analysts intrigued or puzzled, particularly given the price point. Michael Mace portrays the move as a market experiment rather than a concerted effort to gain market share within the smartphone sector.
Facebook still dominates among US teenagers despite talk of an exodus as reported in eMarketer and Forrester.
Contently talking about short films/longform advertising as a better engage with consumers who are spending more time with online video and provide opportunities for content that entertains rather than simply disrupts.
The featured image is a piece by Momo for the Bien Urbain festival in Besançon and was photographed by Laure Saint Hillier & David Demougeot for Ekosystem.
The featured image is a piece by Momo for the Bien Urbain festival in Besançon and was photographed by Laure Saint Hillier & David Demougeot for Ekosystem.
