Have you every looked at your new tablet or smartphone and been honest with yourself and said “it is not that much different from my last device”. What is normally different is that it is thinner, faster and has an overall specification bump. But it still does the same job. Advances in technology mean that over the last 2 years the changes in hardware have been very incremental. So what does this mean.

It means we are moving towards companies needing to provide a full blown range of services, and really focus on this. The hardware will always be available. But to survive they will need services.

In the next few years we might see companies like HTC and RIM go out of business. Meanwhile Google and Amazon will blossom. Why? Because their range of services in increasing to be the next big thing, the next I need this service more than I need the hardware. With Google they now have a decent online media store, streaming music option and they also provide search, maps and more types of services. Amazon has the worlds largest offering of anything online, and has now focused their efforts to make this available through themselves using services eg lovefilm and Amazon Cloud. They already have the user base, the cloud and logistics. Amazon IMO is the strongest service provider and the biggest threat to every other company including Google and Apple. Apple provide a number of services. Customer service, iTunes march, Siri and a unique Eco system, iTunes for online media, Apple TV and more. But Apple need more services to compete with its competitors. Amazon can sell you anything, Google now has Google shopper and is branching that way. Apple dominance as making the best looking gear is under threat, as all it takes is another competitor to make low cost competing hardware, but with a stronger range of services and Apple’s brand value will start to diminish.

The world as we know it is changing. Who will be the winners and who will be the losers. Time will tell over the next 18 months to 24 months.