Linked List: August 1, 2014

Friday, 1 August 2014

Dan Frommer on Samsung: ‘There’s No Easy Fix’ ★

Dan Frommer:

Today in Seoul, Samsung “reported its worst quarterly profit in two years and flagged uncertain earnings prospects for its key handset business,” Reuters’ Se Young Lee reports. Of course, Samsung thinks its new products will fix the situation.

But we’ve seen this story before. This particular chart shows Nokia’s adjusted closing price from the day Apple released the first iPhone, in 2007, to the day in 2013 when Microsoft announced it would acquire Nokia’s struggling handset business.

First, Samsung has to answer a major question: Do they continue their efforts as Android’s leading handset maker (and remain under Google’s thumb), or do they forge their own path with Tizen? Hard to see how they can have it both ways.

Microsoft Sues Samsung to Collect Unpaid Patent Royalties ★

David Howard, Microsoft deputy general counsel:

After becoming the leading player in the worldwide smartphone market, Samsung decided late last year to stop complying with its agreement with Microsoft. In September 2013, after Microsoft announced it was acquiring the Nokia Devices and Services business, Samsung began using the acquisition as an excuse to breach its contract. Curiously, Samsung did not ask the court to decide whether the Nokia acquisition invalidated its contract with Microsoft, likely because it knew its position was meritless.

They just stopped paying. You have to love Samsung’s shamelessness.

A Lot Can Change in 6 Years ★

Allen Pike:

In many ways, the iOS app market is where the web was in 2001. The easy wins have been won, and a lot of developers have hangovers. Still, successful products will continue to surprise and delight us from those who stick with it.

Our first three products at Steamclock were paid iOS apps. The two products we have in the lab are not. One is a web app, and one a Mac app, both on subscription models. We’ll be building software for iOS for a long time, but it’s time to experiment as well.

A Different Kind of Indie Success ★

Stephen Orth on his experience as an iOS indie developer:

The app never turned my business into a product-based powerhouse with a hockey-stick growth chart. Instead, the app gave me the skills to build another sort of business: a business where I call all the shots, where I decide my own schedule, where I can be truly present, every day, as my boys grow up. And, I still get to create things and use my brain to solve real problems. I’ve even released a couple of other apps. But most of all, the business has let me live a rich, simple life.

Buzzfeed Upset About Twitter Account That Spoils Their Clickbait Headlines ★

File this one under “That’s rich.”

IE on Windows Phone Now Spoofing iPhone Safari’s Useragent String ★

Totally understandable on Microsoft’s part, but man, what a sign of how much the iPhone has turned the industry upside-down. IE used to be the browser whose useragent string others had to spoof.