In 2010 we saw immense change in a number of connected consumer segments. TVs began to morph from dumb islands to smart, connected content hubs, the iPad created an entirely new computing category almost overnight and e-books went from curiosity to white-hot sensation as cheap e-readers fueled the market.
With so much happening, there are a few companies that deserve special recognition for moving their markets in 2010.
Google. In looking back at 2010, it’s clear that Google’s Android gambit to create an anti-iPhone smartphone platform was ingenious, and perhaps the perfect way to transfer the company’s web-based dominance to the mobile screen. Android is everywhere now, and the uptake continues to grow so fast that even Apple may be surprised.
But clearly, Google saw Android as more than just a mobile play: With the recent release of Google TV, the company now has its sites set on our living rooms.
While initial reactions about Google TV are mixed, many seem to be missing the bigger picture about what exactly Google intends to do. Google’s living room strategy is a multi-year one where the company intends to become the universal EPG and transform our TVs into connected advertising terminals powered by Google’s strength in ad delivery and monetization.
Of course, the vision is a big one, and with both content owners and carriers likely to play hard-ball, there’s no guarantee Google will succeed. But make no mistake, the release of Google TV in 2010 — and efforts by Google to strengthen its ties to Hollywood — portend for a very interesting 2011.
Apple. Just when you thought Apple couldn’t be hotter — three years after the release of the iPhone and the creation of a hugely successful app-centric content and software model — it released the iPad.
And are those tablets hot. Sales of the device exceeded nearly all expectations, perhaps creating the single greatest new device launch in consumer electronics. The iPad also legitimized a hugely disruptive new computing category, the web tablet, and put another hot mobile computing category, netbooks, on the defensive.
There are many reasons for the iPad’s success: strong industrial design, the porting of the hugely successful (and well-understood) iOS and the Apple halo effect. But perhaps the biggest reason for the success of the iPad is that the device, quite simply, neatly filled a hole in the market that was way underserved.
Never before had there been a portable computing device that made it so easy to do so many things. It instantly became one of the best e-readers, portable gaming devices, portable video players and, perhaps most importantly, portable mobile web devices on the day of launch.
Rovio. If 2010 was the year of apps, the company behind the runaway app hit of 2010, Angry Birds, deserves some recognition.
While Nintendo and game makers like Popcap have led a casual game revolution over the past decade, Angry Birds is perhaps the first mega-hit across the smartphone and tablet space. The app has found stunning succes on both Apple’s App store and Android market, and is also the first mega-app game hit to embrace a dual monetization (paid on iOS, advertising supported on Android).
Not only was Angry Birds on seemingly every phone and tablet, the cartoon bird and pig sensation that’s collectively wasted hundreds of millions of man-hours has now made the leap to pop culture phenomenon. The company sees it as a potential franchise for properties beyond that of smartphone and tablet games, and thoughts of a movie adaption have even taken flight.
By crossing the pop culture chasm, Angry Birds represents what may be the first hit in the new age of apps. Angry Birds and games like it are ushering in a new era of highly approachable touchscreen games sold across a variety of different platforms, from iOS and Android to, eventually, consoles.
Primesense. While most people have never heard of Primesense, there is no doubt the company behind the 3-D technology at the core of Microsoft’s new Kinect has had a significant impact on the market in 2010.
When the company took the concept to Microsoft a few years ago, the software giant — looking for a way to crack the casual game market in a way that Nintendo had managed with the Wii motion sensor — immediately signed up. Before long, Microsoft started dropping hints about Project Natal, and while early reviews were strong, many were still somewhat skeptical.
But the early results show Microsoft and Primesense were on to something. With 2.5 million Kinect controllers sold just a month after release, it’s clear that 3-D free-space motion sensing may have hit a chord with consumers.
And Primesense isn’t about to stop with the Xbox 360. The company is actively working on new projects that could see its technology in set-tops and PCs in 2011. With interfaces as the new black, it looks like Primesense could be primed for a hugely successful 2011.
Amazon. With consumer interest in e-books hitting the stratosphere in 2010, no doubt much of the credit goes to the biggest catalyst for the market.
Looking back, many foresaw a speedy death for the Kindle with the launch of the iPad. But Amazon’s nimble product efforts in launching a new line of lower-priced Kindle e-readers and creating Kindle iPhone and iPad apps have more than muted the “Kindle-is-dead” mantra.
Amazon’s forward-looking vision extends beyond the device itself — towards reshaping the entire publishing industry. Not only has the company been extremely aggressive in trying to push for lower e-book prices, it also started efforts to disintermediate traditional publishers by signing direct deals with popular authors to their new e-book imprint.
With the e-book set to be even hotter in 2011, expect Amazon to be equally aggressive to defend its early-leader advantage and to find additional ways to shake up the slow-moving book publishing industry.
