KUNHAO(Leo) Huang's blog

At the beginning of the year, Microsoft launched their new lineup of laptop computers called the Surface . What special about the Surface was that it can also be a tablet when detached from the keyboard. It may sound like a wonderful idea. A laptop that can be broken into a tablet and the keyboard. The problem with the Microsoft Surface was that the Apple iPad has the same feature and iPad was introduced years ago. With additional purchase of a keyboard, not only is the iPad thinner and lighter, it can also be cheaper depending on the configuration.

Why would anyone want the Microsoft Surface then?

In fact, no one did. Microsoft had to slash the price of the tablet in order to get rid of the inventory. At the end, Microsoft wrote off about $900 million on the Surface RT, the more affordable model, alone. What Microsoft failed to do was to identify its strong competitor, the iPad. The Apple tablet is more developed and well established, there was no way that the Surface is able to take a bite of Apple iPad’s market share.

“Microsoft: That $900m Surface write-down is smarting • The Register.” Microsoft: That $900m Surface write-down is smarting • The Register. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/15/microsoft_surface_channel/>.

“The Wall Street Journal.” Digits RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/07/18/microsoft-takes-900-million-writeoff-on-struggling-surface-tablet/>.

Early this month, Toyota recalled 885,000 cars in the U.S as a result of a design flaw that allow spider webs to trigger the airbags’ inflation.

One of the world’s biggest auto manufacturers recalled almost a million cars because of some spider webs?!? Ironically, Toyota is known as the company that makes the most reliable cars.

It is not the first time Toyota needs to mass recall its products.  There were many incidents that forced this Japanese car maker to call back its vehicles. Some were due to its malfunctioning airbags, while some were because of mechanical sticking of the accelerator pedal causing unintended acceleration.

How does Toyota’s little brother, Lexus, remains trouble free throughout the years?

Toyota is ranked third in global automating with around 7.9 million vehicles in 2012. In order to produce almost 8 million cars a year, the auto manufacturer established factories in U.S to better accommodate its needs. All those problems are the result of mass production and poor long distance management. On the other hand, all Lexus models are imported from Japan, and are build with extreme care and precision. With slower production rate, workers are able to pay closer attention to the the product and spot any faults before the vehicle leaves the factory.

“Toyota recalls almost a million cars because SPIDER WEBS could trigger air bags to inflate and cause drivers to lose control.” Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2473113/Toyota-recalls-million-cars-SPIDER-WEBS-trigger-air-bags-inflate-cause-drivers-lose-control.html>.

“G.M. Regains the Top Spot in Global Automaking.” The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/business/gm-back-on-top-in-world-automaking.html?_r=2&hp&>.

Review

Is it still considered “egg”?

Hampton Creek, the company that just announced its latest creation, artificial eggs which are made of plants. On the Hampton Creek website, there are lists of factors which show that the artificial eggs, also known as Beyond Eggs, are far more superior than regular eggs. Hampton Creek claims that Beyond Eggs will tastes better than normal eggs, have no cholesterol, and even cheaper.

I believe it is a great product. Since the eggs are made of plants, there are almost no factor  restricting how much the company can produce beside the growing of the plants itself, and consumers would not have to worry about any animal related diseases. Due to its cheaper price, many people would switch to this as an alternative for eggs.  However, just like what Zheran said, they will be people who are doubtful of this new product,and some might even fear this product. I believe people will slowly accept Beyond Eggs as an alternative, people are just unfamiliar with the whole idea of artificial food.

Moreover, we are already surround by artificial ingredients in our food system. There are more then 20 different types of chemicals in our fruit beverages and chicken nuggets that are not 100% chicken.

“‘Artificial egg’ made from PLANTS backed by Bill Gates set to revolutionize cooking goes on sale at Whole Foods.” Mail Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2416808/Artificial-egg-PLANTS-backed-Bill-Gates-set-revolutionize-cooking-goes-sale-Whole-Foods.html>.

Review 

I totally agree with Chit Leung Leung. I would not turn down such a great offer from the leader in the social media world. I believe Snapchat simply do not have a business model as far. The company should still be focusing on building its audience base, and it should take revenue into consideration in the future as the company expands larger. The only way for this application to generate revenues is through advertisement. However, it is still too early for Snapchat to even start integrating advertisement into the app, and by do so may even result in losing current or new users.

That means Snapchat is not able to make profit anytime soon.

Yet, Facebook still offered to acquire this company with 3 billion dollars. If I were Evan Spiegel, the founder of Snapchat, I would have accepted Facebook’s offer and used that capital to start on another project. Or, if possible, try to turn the acquisition offer into a partnership. By doing this, I am able to keep at least half of the company, and can further develop and improve the application. Most importantly, I would not miss out if Facebook Inc. really turned Snapchat into a profit maker.

Frier, Sarah. “Facebook Said to Offer $3B for Snapchat to Attract Teens.” Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-14/facebook-said-to-offer-3b-for-snapchat-to-attract-teens.html>.

Google has recently launched it new flagship smartphone, the Nexus 5. The phone is introduced with the latest version of Android, Google’s own mobile operating system. It is equipped with the latest hardware and software, and it only carries a $350 price tag. The Apple iPhone’s price sounds outrageous, which starts at $720 for the latest model, compared to the Nexus 5’s, with similar hardware specifications if not better. In fact, the Nexus 5 is so good that it was sold out after only 26 minutes since it was launched on the Google Play Store. There is a reason behind why Google is selling its flagship device at such a low price, and it is to draw people’s attention to its unique mobile system. Not only would it help raise brand awareness, some people might even switch from other mobile platform such as iOS and Windows. In this case, Google’s main focus is not the profit margin of its flagship smartphone, but to increase the population of Android users. Therefore, it is able to make a profit from its services and selling its content, such as apps, music, films and books, from the Google Play Store.

“Google Nexus 5 phone review: Big features, small price tag – Technology & Science – CBC News.” CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/google-nexus-5-phone-review-big-features-small-price-tag-1.2426454>.

BlackBerry phones are known to have this unique messaging application which is only available to BlackBerry users, called BBM (BlackBerry Messenger). BlackBerry had filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in Toronto in 2010 allege that the start-up infringed on their patents. The founder and chief executive of the instant messaging service Kik, Ted Livingston, was accused of using knowledge he gained when he was working for BlackBerry.

Kik now has 90 million users around the world compared to the 60 million users BBM has. Kik Messenger is a cross-platform application which also works on the iPhone and any android devices. On the other hand, BlackBerry is still holding on its tiny user base and has failed to expand. However, now that the lawsuit between this two companies has ended, many new opportunities has arisen.  Kik messenger was banned from the BlackBerry application store until now, and it has opened up paths to work together.

It is a big step BlackBerry has taken toward a more diverse target market. Instead of closing itself out, BlackBerry is trying really hard to reach out to more customers, and this sets a great milestone.

Ligaya, Armina. “BlackBerry and Kik settle instant messaging spat.” Financial Post Business BlackBerry and Kik settle instant messagingspat Comments. 08 Oct. 2013 <http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/07/blackberry-and-kik-settle-instant-messaging-spat/?__lsa=846d-ff04>.

Disneyland is not just “The Place Where Dreams Come True”, it is also a place with great profit and revenue. Out of all six Disney-themed parks throughout the world, the Hong Kong Disneyland is known to be the smallest and most tedious of all. Not only did it not cater well enough to the Chinese market, the Hong Kong version of the Magic Kingdom could not receive the Hong Kong government’s full support due to its “smaller-than expected” attendance.

Disney is wishing to turn this situation around with the new Iron Man-themed thrill ride which will open at Hong Kong Disneyland in late 2016. The “Iron Man 3” movie had scored an exceptionally well box-office in China, taking in $121.2millilon. Disney wants to ride this trend and hope to regain its crown in the booming Chinese theme park market. It is an extremely crucial step for Walt Disney Company as it is trying to enter in the Chinese market in Shanghai. I believe expansion is the first thing the Hong Kong Disneyland should do since it is the main reason why tourists are not revisiting and to shake of its standing as the smallest Disney Park.

Barnes, Brooks. “To Lift Hong Kong Park, Disney Deploys Iron Man – NYTimes.com.” The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/business/international/to-lift-hong-kong-park-disney-deploys-iron-man.html?ref=business&_r=0>.

Before the existence of the iPhone, BlackBerry were one of the leading cellphone manufacturers on the market.  It had dominant control in the mature market, targeting company staffs with its sophisticated design and advanced messaging system. However, with the release of the first iPhone, Apple Inc. has taken everything away from BlackBerry. Recently, BlackBerry is laying off another 300 employees, which adds up to more than 7000 jobs being cut since 2011. It has been hopelessly trying to cut cost and hoping to stay in the mobile phone competition. The workforce reduction is not going to stop anytime soon as BlackBerry has announced that further reduction will “impact approximately 4500 workers globally over the next three quarters.”

Instead of laying off employees, BlackBerry should better utilize its staffs and come up with better products for the competition. The problem cannot be solved just through cost-cutting. I believe BlackBerry had targeted a great part of the market but many people were forced to purchase other devices due to BlackBerry’s lack of innovation.

Ligaya, Armina. “BlackBerry Ltd laying off 300 Waterloo-based employees this week.”Financial Post Business BlackBerry Ltd laying off 300 Waterloobased employees thisweek Comments. 08 Oct. 2013 <http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/07/blackberry-ltd-laying-off-300-waterloo-based-employees-this-week/?__lsa=5eda-42a0>.

“The world’s biggest public company and the world’s biggest country are at loggerheads over the price of a phone.”  Along with the debut of the new flagship phone of the company, Apple Inc. has also introduced the plastic-backed iPhone 5C, which is more “affordable” and targeted at the lower end of the consumer market. However, the price of an iPhone 5C in China is not considered to be affordable at all. Chinese consumers are paying 4,488 Yuan (US$730) for their iPhone 5C, and it is almost $200 more than the retail price in the US.  Apple’s new iPhone 5C is essentially a repackaged iPhone 5, an older model of the iPhone line-up, and yet they are charging a premium price, especially on the Chinese consumers. Apple believes that there is still huge market with many potential consumers in this country of 1.4 billion people. So even with the increased price, Apple is certain that it will generate a great sum of profit and there is no point of lowering the price to suit the market. Apple is taking advantage of the Chinese market because it knows that the number of people who are still willing to pay the full price of a new iPhone is enormous.

Carsten, Paul, and Lee Chyen Yee. “Apple’s IPhone 5C Might Not Be Cheap Enough For China.” Financial Post Business Apples IPhone 5C Might Not Be Cheap Enough ForChina Comments. Thomson Reuters 2013, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013. <http://business.financialpost.com/2013/09/11/apples-iphone-5c-might-not-be-cheap-enough-for-china/?__lsa=e829-dba5>.