Smartphone Industry The WritePass Journal

Smartphone Industry Executive summary Smartphone Industry ). New entrants find it challenging to compete and gain in the market share which is dominated by major brands. However, some new smartphones manufacturers such as Sony and ZTE are rapidly gaining popularity and market share. Competitive advantage within the smartphone industry. The smartphone market is highly competitive, and it has experienced dramatic changes in the recent past. In 2007, Apple defeated BlackBerry from the leading position as the dominant smartphone maker Laffey (2011). Smartphone market competition has also been based on the two main operating systems, Google’s Android and Apples’ IOS (Park et al 2011). Apple has managed to take the leading position in the market because of its high specification products, integrated operating system and quality hardware (Laffey, 2011). Apple’s success is also attributed to its luxury brand image established during the reign of Steve Jobs Apple provides the eco-system of apps available online on Apple’s app-store platform (Park et al 2011). The Kindle Fire, an Amazon product is expected to challenge Apple by offering readerse new opportunities to access to Amazon’s online e-books store (Laffey, 2011). Amazon’s relationship with content providers will enable it secure the delivery of its apps and video content providing a new competition across the market segment (Laffey, 2011). The difference in pricing between Android and IOS phones has impacts on competition (Laffey, 2011). Most Android smartphones are affordable while some devices from Apple are less affordable. Apple benefits from a higher income from this (Laffey, 2011). Conclusion In summary, the current smartphone is no longer exclusive for early adopters. Streamlining of new innovations has led to increased competition and patent litigation. It is evident that the smartphone market is controlled by a few major smartphones makers. Smartphones have heralded a new era in the communication industry and changed several aspects of human lifestyle. New software makers need to develop an operating system to make a unique distinction in the current market. References Ahson, S. and Ilayas. (2006) Smartphones [online]. Intl. Engineering Consortium. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk [Accessed 4 April 2014] Boyes, W., and Melvin, M. (2012) Macroeconomics. Cengage Learning. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk[Accessed 4 April 2014] BBC (2010) ‘Leading mobile phone lose market share’, 10 November. Available from bbc.co.uk/news/business-11725411 [Accessed 4 April 2014] Egham (2012) ‘Gartner says worldwide smartphone sales soared in Fourth quarter of 2011 with 47 percent growth’. Garner [online]. 15 February. Available from: gartner.com/newsroom/id/1924314 [Accessed 4 April 2014] Ferell, O., C., and Fraedrich, J. (2014) Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making Cases [online]. Cengage Learning. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk[Accessed 4 April 2014] Henry, A. (2008) Understanding Strategic Management [online]. Oxford University Press. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk [Accessed 3 April 2014]. Himmelsbach, T. (2013) A Survey on Todays Smartphone Usage [online]. GRIN Verlag. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk[Accessed 4 April 2014] Hill, C., Jones, G., and Schilling, M. (2014) Strategic Management: Theory Cases: An Integrated Approach [online]. Cengage Learning. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk[Accessed 4 April 2014] Laffey, D. (2011) Strategic issues in Tablets and Smartphones: An Agenda (Non-referred research note). Journal of Strategic Management Education 7(4): 287-290 Park, J., Yang, L., and Lee, C. (2011) Future Information Technology: 6th International Conference on Future Information Technology, FutureTech 2011, Crete, Greece, June 28-30, 2011. Proceedings [online]. Springer. Available at: http://books.google.co.uk [Accessed 4 April 2014]

Angels in America - Character Analysis of Prior Walter

Angels in America - Character Analysis of Prior Walter The Full Title Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes Part One - Millennium Approaches Part Two - Perestroika The Basics Angels in America is written by playwright Tony Kushner. The first part, Millennium Approaches, premiered in Los Angeles in 1990. The second part, Perestroika, premiered the following year. Each installment of Angels in America won the Tony Award for Best Play (1993 and 1994). The plays multi-layered plot explores the lives of two very different AIDS patients during the 1980s: the fictional Prior Walter and the non-fictional Roy Cohn. In addition to the themes of homophobia, Jewish heritage, sexual identity, politics, AIDS awareness, and Mormonism, Angels in America also weaves a very mystical component throughout the storyline. Ghosts and angels play a prominent role as the living characters confront their own mortality. Although there are many significant characters within the play (including the Machiavellian lawyer and world-class hypocrite Roy Cohn), the most sympathetic and transformative protagonist in the play is a young man named Prior Walter. Prior the Prophet Prior Walter is an openly gay New Yorker in a relationship with Louis Ironson, a guilt-ridden, Jewish intellectual legal clerk. Shortly after being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, Prior needs serious medical attention. However, Louis, compelled by fear and denial, abandons his lover, ultimately leaving Prior betrayed, brokenhearted, and increasingly ill. Yet Prior soon learns that he is not alone. Much like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, Prior will meet important companions who will aid his quest for health, emotional well-being, and wisdom. In fact, Prior makes several references to The Wizard of Oz, quoting Dorothy on more than one occasion. Priors friend, Belize, perhaps the most compassionate figure in the play, works as a nurse (for none other than the dying, AIDS-ravaged Roy Cohn). He does not waver in the face of death, remaining loyal to Prior. He even swipes experimental medicine from the hospital directly following Cohns death. Prior also gains an unlikely friend: the Mormon mother of his ex-boyfriends lover (yes, its a complicated). As they learn about the others values, they learn that they are not as different as they first believed. Hannah Pitt (the Mormon mother) stays by his hospital bedside and listens in earnest to Priors retelling of his heavenly hallucinations. The fact that a virtual stranger is willing to befriend an AIDS patient and comfort him through the night makes Louis act of abandonment all the more cowardly. Forgiving Louis Fortunately, Priors ex-boyfriend is not beyond redemption. When Louis finally visits his weakened companion, Prior scorns him, explaining that he cannot return unless he has experienced pain and injury. Weeks later, after a fight with Joe Pitt (Louis closeted Mormon lover and the right-hand man of the contemptible Roy Cohn see, I told you it was complicated), Louis returns to visit Prior the hospital, beaten and bruised. He asks for forgiveness, Prior grants it to him but also explains that their romantic relationship will never continue. Prior and the Angels The most profound relationship which Prior establishes is a spiritual one. Even though he is not seeking religious enlightenment, Prior is visited by an angel who decrees his role as a prophet. By the plays end, Prior wrestles with the angel and ascends to heaven, where he finds the rest of the seraphim in disarray. They seem overwhelmed by paperwork and no longer serve as a guiding force for mankind. Instead, heaven offers peace through stillness (death). However, Prior rejects their views and rejects his title of prophet. He chooses to embrace progress, despite all of the pain that it entails. He embraces change, desire, and above all things, life. Despite the complexity of plot and the political/historical backdrop, the message of Angels in America is ultimately a simple one. During the plays resolution, Priors final lines are delivered directly to the audience: You are fabulous creatures, each and every one. And I bless you. More life. The great work begins. It seems, in the end, Prior Walter accepts his role as a prophet after all.