Smartphone Ecosystem (Part 6): Cheaper Smartphones

By guest author Nalini Kumar Muppala

There has been a lot of talk about cheaper smartphones coming our way. A slew of recent product announcements and promises from chip vendors seem to support this claim. It must be noted that the price in question is the real price of the device, not a carrier-subsidized (and cost recouped over service contracts normally running one to two years) price. Much of the world cannot afford a $100 monthly bill, which is close to what an average iPhone user pays AT&T. If smartphones are to see a huge uptake, the price has to come down. >>>

College Bootstrapping Buddies: Grasshopper Cofounders Siamak Taghaddos And David Hauser (Part 6)

SM: Intuit does well because accountants and bookkeepers all know and use its product. They are all trained on QuickBooks, and they are not entrepreneurs. Even Microsoft could not penetrate that relationship.

ST: It all depends on the services they’re going to provide to entrepreneurs. Intuit has done a great job and has been very successful because its distribution has been directly into the accountants. >>>

Vision India 2020 Book Review: Subrata Mitra

Subrata Mitra, a partner with Accel Partners, has written a notable review:

“Vision India 2020 is a great read for anyone who believes in the India story, how the country is touted to emerge as a global economic force in the coming decades, and how younger generations can think very differently about their lives and livelihood going forward. >>>

Smartphone Ecosystem (Part 5): Devices, Part 3

By guest author Nalini Kumar Muppala

As seen in the table below, each major component is dominated by a different set of companies. There is no dearth of competition, and we can thus be assured of continued innovation. >>>

College Bootstrapping Buddies: Grasshopper Cofounders Siamak Taghaddos And David Hauser (Part 5)

SM: How are you structuring your products as you spin them out of Grasshopper Labs?

ST: We want brands that are self-sustaining. We are structured like Coca-Cola is. They are the manufacturing company and the flagship product. However, they also have other brands. Our virtual PBX is our flagship product, but we have other brands as well. >>>

Catching Up On Readings: Research Internships Available

I am accepting applications for research internships in various areas; details are here. You can read all of this week’s posts by clicking on the full article. >>>

Smartphone Ecosystem (Part 4): Devices, Part 2

By guest author Nalini Kumar Muppala

Smartphones and an increasing number of feature phones have a variety of connectivity options. Bluetooth, WLAN, GPS, and FM all were discrete parts not so long ago. Advances in radio integration have lead to a variety of combinations of the connectivity radios. In some cases they are combined with baseband as well. >>>

College Bootstrapping Buddies: Grasshopper Cofounders Siamak Taghaddos And David Hauser (Part 4)

SM: After the first year, what were some of your major milestones and challenges?

ST: The primary challenge that we have had from day one is scaling the company without external financing. We continue to reinvest the money and make smart bootstrapping decisions. >>>