Smart home is stuck + more ideas

1 minutes estimated reading time

The smart home is stuck – Recode – interesting analysis on the nascent smartphone market. Will we move beyond Nest, Hue light bulbs and IP security cameras? Will consumers see utility in the modern smartphone and be ready for the upgrade cycle. Or will smart home is stuck morph into just a fad like 3D TV sets? More on the web of no web here as the internet meets the real world in ways that make the technology invisible and integral to everyday life.

New Chinese online payment rules take HK e-shoppers by surprise | HKEJ Insight – looks like controlling capital flight measures. It represents a serious cramp in Alipay and WeChat Pay opportunities. There also must be come work around as these services are expanding abroad to meet the needs of high spending Chinese travellers.

Xiaomi opens stores | Shanghai Daily – interesting pivot in distribution channels. Previously Xiaomi was famous for popularising flash sales online of its handsets a bit like Drop.com do now. Its model now looks closer to that pursued by the likes of Huawei and Apple in China. It will also be interesting if Xiaomi uses these stores to sell its range of home appliances alongside handsets

Why a staggering number of Americans have stopped using the Internet the way they used to – The Washington Post – Nearly one in two Internet users say privacy and security concerns have now stopped them from doing basic things online — such as posting to social networks, expressing opinions in forums or even buying things from websites, according to a new government survey released Friday (paywall). All of which belies the influence that social platforms seem to have in shaping popular opinion and building grass roots groups. There is obviously a missing piece between consumer behaviour and this research. I am not quite too sure what it is though.