Android One

Android One is a Google project marketed at developing nations. Silicon Valley based Google is attempting to capture as much of the mobile market in developing countries as possible, noticing a movement away from traditional desktop and laptop computers and toward mobile computing devices. Currently, smartphone use remains stratified within the developed countries in the West and East Asia, although there is a quickly growing trend of the adoption of such devices across India, Pakistan, the Philippines and other countries. Google wants its Android One in the palms of as many of these new users as possible.

The key draw of the Android One is its low price of around $100. This budget computing smartphone allows the denizens of developed countries to actually buy the damn things, as Apple’s products and high-end Samsung phones can cost as much as $650 and are thus out of the price range of billions of the world’s emerging middle classes across Asia.

However, Google is not entering into a virgin market. There are already competitors like Lenovo and China’s Xiaomi which have trounced strong competition like Samsung in the low to middle range smartphone competition in East Asia. Lenovo and Xiaomi are offering high-end performance at a low-end prices on their phones while Samsung’s low-end devices are often sputtering and inconsistent. Clearly, Google has its work cut out for it if it wishes to do battle against these types of competitors.

However, we should never count Google out, as they are at the top of the heap in terms of software and services. They seem to understand the market well and will be able to capitalize off of the mistakes made by past companies in order to successfully market a device which carries its brand’s cache and integrated software. These draws could add to Google’s successes in the mobile market.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay marks the company’s efforts to revolutionize the way that consumers pay for their goods and services. Pay will utilize a specific process which allows for the fast transaction of goods and services using an Apple-based digital wallet. Apple CEO, Tim Cook, called today’s payment process “antiquated,” and stated that he intended to usher in a new era of payment through the power of the Apple ecosystem and its associated technologies.

The Pay network will utilize Near Field Communication (NFC), in order to trigger payments. The vendor will need to purchase and install special hardware in order to facilitate these transactions, and the buyer will scan their fingerprint upon payment time in order to release the funds from their iPhone to the vendor. Currently, there are about 222,000 stores across the United States which have signed onto the Pay service, although it still has many obstacles towards its widespread adoption.

Apple Pay is facing a great deal of competition from other vendors who would lie to use their own digital wallets to facilitate transactions. Both Walmart and Best Buy have rejected Pay in favor of plans to issue their own digital wallets in the future to facilitate transactions. We could see a reality where, rather than relying on a centralized payment scheme in the form of Apple Pay, we would witness large vendors issuing their own “currency” in their stores and thus earning profits by being able to issue this currency themselves. This is all made possible because of the creation of digital currency systems.

However, there are is still hope for Pay. Both Visa and Mastercard have signed onto the scheme, and Apple claims to possess more than 800 million pieces of credit card information from its iTunes store, already giving it a head start in the race to be crowned digital currency King. Obviously, how this will play out is yet to be seen, but it is possible that Apple could boost its sales from new adopters of its hardware seeking to take advantage of deals and benefits offered by the Apple Pay system.

Apple Keynote

Apple kicked off the Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC) with a slew of new products for the next year, including the iPhone 6, iOS 8, a new developers' language, and Apple Watch, the first of its wearable computing devices. Apple CEO Tim Cook took to the stage at WWDC 2014 to unveil all of the latest offerings from the Cupertino-based corporation, with reception varying widely based on who you ask and the indicators you were watching.

The sixth iteration in Apple's iPhone line now sports two different sizes, with the stock iPhone 6 measuring 4.7 inches, while the iPhone 6 Plus features a 5.5 inch screen. Both versions are significantly larger than the screen on the iPhone 5S, but the 6 Plus plants Apple's flag in a quickly growing phablet market. The new A8 processor in the 6 also allows for 25% faster processing speed over the 5S and the backside camera features 8 megapixels.

iOS 8 offers new features as well, allowing for fixes to much maligned mail and browser applications. iOS 8 will allow users to navigate tabs more easily while also giving Apple users the ability to sync browser sessions between devices so that emails you type on your phone will automatically pick up once you open your Macbook. In addition to iOS 8, Apple has introduced Swift, a new programming language that it hopes will allow developers more accessibility in creating programs for its platforms.

Finally, Apple Watch is Apple's first wearable device, seemingly designed for those living an active lifestyle. The device requires an iPhone in order to function and comes with different face sizes and accoutrements depending on the version. There is even a gold-plated version for those looking to get extra-stylish.

It is worth noting, however, that there seemed to be negative market response to Apple Watch, as stock prices dropped as it was introduced. It is never safe to count Apple out, however, as it seems that their new products always seem to find a market. It will be interesting to see how the rest of 2014 and 2015 shape up.