iPhone 3G + App Store + Booming Mac Sales. Despite turbulence at the simultaneous launch of the iPhone 3G, App store, iPhone 2.0 and MobileMe, Apple is going gangbusters.
But, the number of problems occurring in recent weeks may be a new record for Apple.
A lot of people (including me) believe that Apple was getting overconfident. They started believing they were infallible. Now they know better.
On the bright side, though, Apple is disrupting and raising the bar in the industries they’ve chosen to participate in. They are making a difference that I and many others appreciate. Ultimately, I attribute the innovation Apple has achieved to: opportunity, vision, people and passion.
In the late 90’s, after Steve Jobs came back, Apple started a concerted effort to gain marketshare for the Mac. This wasn’t easy but they attacked the problem with relentless gusto and creativity. Steve assessed his competition (Microsoft) as formidable due to extreme marketshare dominance. But, he saw a long-term opportunity when comparing the technical potential of OS X vs. Windows.
Jobs bet on Apple’s technology, team, vision and design sense. The least that could be achieved was survival as the BMW to Microsoft’s Ford.
The massive undertaking of launching and realizing the potential of OS X was carried out successfully. The iPod, a whole new product initiative, was orchestrated to great success and segment dominance. Apple’s success with the iPod gave them the wherewithal to try an even more ambitous project: the iPhone.
It took three years to bring iPhone to market. In the meantime, Apple pulled off a complete switch to Intel processors from the PowerPC chip architecture. Steve said Apple needed Intel’s planned low-powered chips to drive growth in smaller computer devices. We are still seeing the fruits of this transition.
The MacBook Air is an example of a smaller device that uses Intel’s low-power chips. Lots of people are hoping for a tablet Mac or a large iPod touch in the next year. This seems likely now as other smaller devices are gaining some traction. The EEE PC, Nokia’s N810 and the PSP all may be carving out a spot for better devices made by Apple.
Right now, the iPhone has center stage and looks poised to radically alter the cell phone industry as we’ve come to know it. Leading tech pundit, Walt Mossberg, has taken to calling the cell phone, the device formerly known as the cell phone. The phone part of the iPhone is the tip of the iceberg.
Apple announced in March that it will begin a campaign to sell the iPhone into corporations, supporting Exchange and addressing the issues corporate IT deem deal-breakers. The App store introduced in July with over 1300 applications at last count seems to make the iPhone into a platform. The battle for dominant mobile platform is not over, but Apple currently occupies the front-runner slot.
Lastly, Macs are selling 3 times faster than PCs these days. Apple is taking PC marketshare quarter by quarter. There’s more to say but you get the idea. I’ve got some gripes with the stability of iPhone 2.0 software and MobileMe, but I’ll get over it and those problems will be addressed. Meanwhile, I’m absolutely in love with the App store.
We are disappointed with Apple’s decision to leave the camera out on the iPod touch. On the other hand the 64gb model looks pretty nice. The little nanos with video cam, microphone and fm radio look like great Christmas gifts this year.
Genius Feature. iTunes 8 brings smarts (“genius”) to iTunes and the new crop of iPods. The scenario is you hear a song you love and want to hear more songs like that right now. Just press the center button and have your built-in genius create a playlist for you. How well it works is yet to be determined but they’ve sure got my attention!