Apple refreshed the iPad yesterday, delivering few surprises, a market leading product and a set of features that we expect to ensure continued dominance into 2013
The launch of the fourth mobile network operator in France has so far met with dramatic success, gaining around 1.5 million subscribers in the first month, driven by rock-bottom pricing and a clever mass media PR campaign
Its tariffs are, however, so low that it is very hard to see how they are sustainable in the longer term. In the short term, Free’s economics are boosted by asymmetric voice and text termination rates that result in other operators’ customers effectively subsidising Free subscribers by €5 to €10 a month
This arbitrage is very likely to disappear over the next two years, but Free Mobile can increase its prices when this occurs. Its challenge will be to acquire a critical mass of subscribers before this point, and to retain them thereafter
Around 125m smartphones and over 20m tablets were sold in Q4 2011. If tablets are included, Apple is now the largest PC manufacturer, while smartphones are now outselling PCs
These devices are the battleground for a war of ecosystems in which Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms are dominant and others are hoping for third place at best. iOS and Android sold around 92m units in Q4 and now have an active base between them of around 515m devices
Samsung now accounts for at least half of Android sales and is in some senses more of a rival to Apple than Android itself
Apple has begun selling interactive textbooks via its iBookstore, a move which is likely to accelerate the digital transition in education
However, the pace of change will be slowed by the cost of devices and the limited number of textbooks that have been designed for tablet computers
By developing educational software and course materials, Apple is trying to position the iPad at the centre of students’ educational lives – a niche that could significantly boost its hardware sales
US album volumes in 2011 rose for the first time since 2004, but lower pricing may continue the revenue decline
UK album volumes declined 5.6% in 2011. HMV’s new-found breathing space removes a key risk for the outlook
US radio royalties to music publishers have been agreed in principle and will see a return to a revenue based payment
Qatar’s Al Jazeera will launch its French pay-TV channel by this summer, showing weekly Ligue 1 and Champions League games, but it has yet to disclose a business plan and distribution deals
The new channel is a complement to Canal+, which broadcasts the most attractive games. Al Jazeera would need to obtain distribution on the Canal+ platform
Even if such a deal were to be struck, Al Jazeera would struggle to break even