Sunday Spectacle CLXXV

Technology Adoption in America

It's not easy to measure how quickly technology is adopted. One can come up with numerous methods, and the result can differ depending on how you count the starting point. Sometimes it is also hard to distinguish between devices. For instance, one of the sources below seems to count 'tablets' as something starting with the iPad, when a stricter view may place the starting point back in the late 90's or early 2000's (there were some tablets running Microsoft OS back then). Similarly, some people separate 'smartphones' from mobile 'feature phones' whereas others do not. In any case, the following graphs provide some insight into adoption rates.

As to be expected, technologies that required building out huge physical infrastructure (like the electricity grid or the telephone network) took a very long time. Based on the results quoted by The Atlantic, it looks like the 'boom box' had the fastest adoption after 7 years for an electronic device.



(source: "Guess What's the Fastest-Adopted Gadget of the Last 50 Years," Alexis Madrigal, The Atlantic. March 23, 2012. Original data from "Diffusion and experience curve pricing of new products in theconsumer electronics industry," Tarique M. Hossain, Journal of Management and Marketing Research, Volume Six - January, 2011.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Thoughts on the stock market - March 2020

Image
Right now, DJIA has a P/E of 16.8 and forwand P/E of 15.1, whereas S&P 500 is at 20.1 with forward P/E of 15.8. Source: WSJ market Data If you ignore interest rates and inflation expectations--both of these influence valuations but depends on your macro call-- the market is not cheap. Long-term P/E is around 15. Trailing P/E is around 20% (Dow) to 40% (S&P500) higher than average. Forward P/E is in line with long term average but that assumes a strong V recovery. Consensus forecast is for profits to drop 1.2% in 2020. In 2008, it dropped 25.4% so current forecast is a very mild recession. Covid-19 coronavirus is not going to last more than a few months but these forecasts are still too rosy in my opinion. So I wouldn't rely on forward P/E. The richly valued (mostly tech or high quality) have not fallen much but the distressed ones have. So if you want to outperform in the long run, I think one’s choice right now is to: • Wait for market to fall another, say...
✖ READ MORE >>>

Warren Buffett's Evolution and his Three Investment Styles

Image
A Young Warren Buffett In a comment to one of my posts , Mark Carter, who incidentally appears to have a  good blog worth checking out , asked: "Buffett Prime is 1970's to early 1990's" Could you elaborate? I have vaguely indicated how I view Warren Buffett in the past, but I thought I would detail my view of his investing behaviour. This is more of an opinion piece and many others would disagree with me (if you do, I'm curious to hear your thoughts). I don't follow Warren Buffett as closely as many value investors so I may get some facts wrong. My view is that Warren Buffett went through three different phases, with each consisting of different investment techniques. The overall investment theory remained the same—what people call value investing—but his execution, tactics, and strategy differs across the three phases. Some people may break up his career into additional periods but my feeling is that the three I will describe essentially capt...
✖ READ MORE >>>

Hugh Hendry discussion at the Alternative Investment Conference

Thanks to Value Investing World for bringing this Hugh Hendry interview to my attention. I may not agree with all the things—short-term orientation of hedge funds is actually worse IMO; the sharp pencil effect doesn't always work—but Hendry is a true contrarian and worth listening. Like Marc Faber or Jim Rogers, you also can't take everything Hugh Hendry says seriously. I had always felt Hugh Hendry was firmly in the deflation camp but I get the feeling that he is now opening up to high-inflation possibilities. Otherwise, his stance appears to be similar to past opinions.
✖ READ MORE >>>