SF Gate

“The Google assistant not only knows about the world, it will also stand apart with how well it gets to know you over time, with your permission of course,” said Mario Queiroz, a Google vice president of product management.

Even though few people own smart-home devices, like Google’s Nest thermostat, some analysts are bullish that this will become a major tech market in the future. Just 19 percent of U.S. broadband households have smart-home devices, according to a report th ...read more

But as the smartphone market matures, Apple has been looking into other areas of growth, including wearables, augmented or virtual reality, and a rumored electric car. On Tuesday, Cook did not directly address any of those projects.

“The future of Apple is very bright,” Cook said in a call with investors. “Our product pipeline has amazing innovations in store.”

Last year, it released the Apple Watch, its first major product since the iPad. The watch was Apple’s first mov ...read more

Pandora was an early pioneer in online music when Westergren founded the Music Genome Project, a massive song database that would become Pandora, in San Francisco in 2000, moving it to Oakland later that year. He returns to the CEO post he held from May 2002 to July 2004.
The landscape today is far more competitive. Pandora, with about 81 million monthly active listeners, must battle powerhouse music services such as Spotify, Apple, Amazon and Google.

A recent Parks Associ ...read more

Samsung is also refreshing its Galaxy phone line in an attempt to catch Apple’s iPhone. A recent report from Parks Associates said Apple leads Samsung in the U.S. smartphone market, 40 percent to 31 percent. But Samsung is “catching up,” Harry Wang, Parks Associates director of health and mobile product research, said in a press release.

From the article "Samsung Unveils Virtual Reality Camera At Mobile World Congress" by Benny Evangelista.

The changes are especially noticeable at Hulu, which is owned by parents of the very television networks — Fox, ABC and NBC — threatened by changes in the way we watch TV. Hulu has set itself apart by offering new TV episodes faster than its rivals; making viewers wait longer could limit its appeal.

“Hulu’s DNA has been recent episodes of TV shows,” said Glenn Hower, an analyst at research firm Parks Associates.

From the article "TV Producers May Start Making You Wait Fo ...read more

What will convince consumers that a connected home is worth the cost and effort? Device makers hope to sell the idea that a connected home is not just safer, but also saves money and is ultra-convenient.

Smart home devices must automate daily mundane tasks so the homeowner doesn’t have to worry about them, said Stuart Sikes, president of the research firm Parks Associates.

“We’re moving to a place where we have proactive home managers, devices that turn off the water and ...read more

“Google is willing to step into an unchartered territory in order to compete with Amazon for user traffic and performance-based advertising opportunities,” said Harry Wang, director of health and mobile product research at Parks Associates.

From the article "Google charges membership for online shopping service" by Wendy Lee.

Apple will probably hold off on making any immediate decisions on its capital returns program and will take a look at what its business needs are, said Harry Wang, director of health and mobile product research at Parks Associates. Six months from now, it’s possible that Apple could increase its share buybacks or dividends if that makes sense for the business, he said.

But if Apple decides to increase its capital returns program, it would take away money from the company’s c ...read more