In its December quarter, the e-commerce company increased the number of active mobile buyers by 25% to 493 million.
The first game-changer is that thanks to the internet and mobile, buyers have access to more information than ever before.
But while the exterior of the 8X and 8S are intentionally loud, it is what they are capable of inside which will matter most to mobile buyers, most of whom have been slow to purchase existing smartphones running an earlier Windows Phone operating system.
Cyanogen is targeting a wider swathe of mobile buyers, and thus arguably competes more directly with Android, so it remains to be seen whether carrier backing can give it much uplift against Google's dominant flavor of Android.
It's just announced a new entry level mobile phone, badged with the Nokia name: the Nokia 215, dubbing the handset its "most affordable Internet-ready entry level phone yet" — and aiming it at first time mobile buyers starting in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe in Q1.
And while there are handset makers offering Cyanogen-powered devinEuropeEurope already, such as U.K.-based WileyFox or Chinese phone manufacturer OnePlus, Cyanogen getting carrier backing for the platform offers the promise of greater reach — given Telefonica's network of retail stores where mobile buyers get the chance to try before they buy.
The segment of mobile buyers is big, and getting bigger.
The other initial platform partners are order management service Lettuce, mobile ad buyer GradientX, app developer Hyfn, digital marketer Kenshoo, and recruiting software The Resumator.
Phones like work and look like the iPhone but, are in some ways, better The iPhone has taken up so much mindshare in the mobile phone buyer's market that even my sainted mother wants one, and that woman can barely work the Nokia 5300 I gave her.
