If your company has been going up against Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) in the smartphone, tablet PC, or digital music player markets, be very afraid. Apple's return salvo may catch you completely by surprise.
The company has been too quiet recently. Ominously quiet. The silence can only mean one thing: Apple will come out soon with another major product line that will redefine its market segment. That's my prediction. How do I know? Apple's late founder, chairman and CEO Steve Jobs promised the company will be rolling out some extraordinary breakthrough technologies in the near future. I believe the process of rolling out the next product from Apple is peaking currently and we should see something compelling from the company within months.
In order to continue pacing the competition, Apple has to keep its innovation engine humming. Jobs's demise is unlikely to hamper this, at least not in the short term. All indications are that the company had a batch of products it was working on before his death. Speculations within the industry include an update to the Apple TV box -- some say it might be a conventional TV-support product (miniaturized) with video streaming capabilities. I believe Apple will probably unveil a new device that will unsettle many and redefine the video entertainment industry. It will definitely combine the best of Apple hardware and software with industry content.
I am fascinated with the growing speculations in the industry about the next products Apple might introduce for entertainment. These include a Siri or voice-controlled HDTV, an Apple iTV that transforms the television experience -- one that an analyst believes the industry isn't quite prepared for, or a direct invasion of the publishing and educational books market.
We may only speculate on what Apple has in mind next, but we can also be certain it won't be another humdrum product. The company's future hangs on its ability to wow the consumer market, repeatedly -- and failure to excite customers and intimidate the competition could hurt its huge capitalization. Already, some folks are speculating the competition is responding faster and more nimbly to Apple's design edge and may even be catching up in certain areas. (See: Is Apple Losing Its 'Cool' Design Edge?.)
I give Apple credit for sparking growth in the music player, smartphone, and tablet PC markets, but expectations for the company have become so high only Apple can beat itself. Rivals like Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Korea: SEC) have learned to make incremental improvements to their products, sneaking in quick and numerous updates while Apple sticks to its schedule of about every six months or so for new product introduction.
Plus, too many companies (Google, HTC, Microsoft, Motorola Mobility, and Samsung) have been ganging up on Apple recently, and the gradual turf encroachment by these rivals must be ticking off somebody at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, Calif. Quite naturally, Apple must fight back and it will do so in typical Apple style with a shockingly simple-to-use product that redefines a specific market sector. If Apple nails it, the already stratospherically high share price will climb even higher, ending temporarily concerns the absence of Jobs may dim investor passion.
There's another reason why Apple has to strike back with a new product that is both unique and market-defining. CEO Timothy Cook has to prove the company can continue to function at the highest level without the guiding hands of Steve Jobs. It's universally acknowledged Jobs left a vacuum few can successfully fill, but Cook, who seems to have performed extremely well during his former boss's medical hiatus in the past, must now be his own man.
He must do it with the outstanding results Jobs got while he was around, but with the Cook imprint. I believe he is up to it.
Our office runs entirely on Macs and our staff uses iPhones because they have a lower TCO than devices that run any other OS. As a small public relations firm competing against pretty big players, we have to look at TCO first. We can't afford to scrape malware out of a PC on a daily basis. Even though there is malware being developed for Macs, there are still far fewer Mac viruses than PC viruses.
The fact that Macs are just cooler than products from every other player in their verticals is icing on the cake.
You're partially right, in so much as your correct, but with a bit of a caveat. The Android-powered phone's you're talking about that are a "dime a dozen" that can't compete with the iOS experience are entry-level phones. That is, they provide a smart phone experience to users who can't afford a $500+ phone. Many of these phones are even free on-contract with the carriers. You really can't compare the experience of a $200 phone (iPhone on-contract) with a phone that is free. No intelligent person should really expect to have as good of an experience with a free phone.
And as for the Transformer series of tablets, have you ever played on one? And I don't mean for 30 seconds at Best Buy, cause people jack those demo units up bad. Android really doesn't have any stability problems, unless they're caused by a 3rd party application, which *does* happen I'll admit. But that's not necessarily the fault of Android.
And I'll agree with you that Apple's strict method of managing all software on the device is part of the reason iOS is as smooth as it is, but for many people it's not worth it. I get an "error" message on my Evo3D about once every two months. That may be 6 more times per year than an iPhone, but I can do *so* much more with it, that I'll live with the annoyance to get the power.
The complicated the OS becomes, the harder it is to prevent things knocking heads. Apple prevents this by limiting features and functionality, but I think that is part of the reason Android is gaining so much market share. I think most people will "forget" about the occasional issue when they have the ability to do more tasks on a normal basis.
iOS is a great OS for what it is. But don't knock all of Android just on the basis that some of the cheap phones aren't as good of an experience.
Those transformer tablets are far from ideal. The android operating system has a long was to go before it is as stable and clean as iOS. Apple's strict but effective method of managing all software has alot to do with its success. I believe I read someone write that the iPhone is an old phone and isn't holding up to droids? I'm not sure where you got that information. The iPhone doesn't have flash support for a good reason and it shows. I mean android phones are so dime a dozen at this point that they are practically giving them away. They are choppy and they never are up to par with what they promise the phone can do. The 8MP camera in most of those phones cannot compare to the camera of the iPhone4S...it is amazing. I am certain that Apple will actually make a market for these transformer tablets if they become a reality. Pretty exciting stuff!
I think it would be nice to have a tablet and laptop combined together. When you close it, its a tablet on top, but when you open it, its a laptop with keyboard etc... Just a thought!
Google already has google wallet, but it would be good for Apple to catch up with Android devices and make it "simple". Good guess, I was also thinking about maybe satellite phone? (Because of their recent rumored investment), or something to do with their counter to Adobe flash? They need to do something since iPhone is a majority of their revenues and its an older device that has been surpassed by droid devices. (I have one of each). Good discussion!
@Bolaji I just hope it lives up to the anticipation. I remember the big letdown people felt about Segways:
The speculation created an unexpected advance buzz about the then-unknown product that was, at times, hyperbolic. John Doerr speculated that it would be more important than the Internet.[7] Bezos was quoted that "...Cities will be built around this device." Articles were written in major publications speculating on it being a Stirling engine.[8] South Park devoted an episode to making fun of the hype before the product was released.
Zhuskers1, I am curious what you imagine that product might be. Knowing the confusion of carrying many cards and trying to remember different passwords and pin numbers, I can relate to a device that would merge all the different cards I have into one but still leave them as distinct entities from different providers.
Also, it took years before Apple introduced the iPad and the iPhone. They had been in development for many years. What time frame do you expect for the next big thing from Apple?
By moving to the core of the industry and offerings services that keep the system humming, a group within the electronics market has rendered irrelevant the question of ownership and control of the supply chain.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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