I totally agree with your thought process. Apple's mode of operation is to wait until the product is ready for release to the public before they release any information about it. Consumers usually wait with baited breath for the next new invention or the next generation product from Apple. Once Apple announces a product, they start selling it right away, there is no wait 6-8 months for production. Immediate gratification has been their strategy.. I agree, once a product is released and apple starts to reaping the rewards of their efforts, competitors scramble to follow suite and release a "better" competing product with higher functionality. The unknown in all this remains to be what Apple is working on and what they will release next. I bet my money on Apple still being able to wow consumers and hold on to its leadership position. Just look at the iPhone, years after its release, the announcement that Verizon will start to carry the iPhone has been long awaited. Even with Verizon carrying the rival Droid products, everyone wants the iPhone! Apple products are superior, not to mention "cooler". The cool factor is key to many consumers. I am always amazed at the success of "name brands" even though no-name brands are just as effective. But, I digress...
All the Apple moves are relative. Introductions of the iPod, iPhone and iPad were certainly the big moves. It is not that easy to make breakthroughs on new versions. Industry thinks that they are catching up with Apple, but Apple is still leading.I think the secret lies in very comprehensive approach. An average consumer can easily use most of the features of either device through iTunes software and its online stores for music, movies and applications. All features added to devices are building blocks of this comprehensive solution, which evolves along as well, but the horizon is not lost. The interesting part of Apple history is that they had products, which failed for example the famous Lisa computer and Newton personal assistant. Rumors are flying about new version of iPad to be released soon and most people are guessing its new features.
Fitting discussion on Apple...particularly in view of the fact that iTunes celebrates 10 years this year. Sometimes innovative milestones don't come in a box.
Bolaji, I totally agree with you. Before the introduction of Apple I phone, we had experienced the inability of other products to cater customer demands and needs. Till that moment all the available products in market have only limited features and functionalities, more over we have to go for different gadgets for different applications (Music player for music, phone for communication, game console for games etc). When Apple introduced I phone in market, which is enriched by lots of features and touch options, everybody started copying and integrating all the features to the same device. The same thing happened for I pad also, and may continue this trend from future products from Apple.
In that way we can call apple as a trend setter and I think we can differentiate the technology era as pre and post period of apple.
I would say Strategy, strategy, strategy they use startegy in each an every move they take. to state they attract consumers first is by the design, style next by the smart technology inside. they have their R&D sitting in california working on the features, technology for their next two gen before their iphone 5 to launch so they are ready to launch the next gen products at the right time while the other companies have not yet planned their launch. one more best policy is they manufacture all their products in millions in China which works out to be less expensive plus very fast this helps them to launch their products in each and every part of the world at the same time. this enhances the ease of availability of the product to all the awaited customers. definitely they will be the market leaders in iphones, ipods and the ipads.
Apple definitely keeps raising the bar on producing high quality, user-friendly innovative consumer electronics, but the competition is quickly learning and adapting.I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple’s next big move is a software company acquisition, which would continue to keep Apple’s competition guessing.
There is no doubt that APPLE is the leader and rest of them try to follow APPLE, I guess one of the things that worked brilliantly for APPLE is apple stores like ITUNES which made the digital content availability easy for the consumer.
With the advent of Android I feel battle will be now between IPHONE Vs Android phones. Though IPHONE is way ahead in the race, lets not forget race is not over yet.
I read an article stating that Android OS and Chrome PCs are aimed at China and there is a flooding of Android phones by many manufactures. What it amounts to is loss of market share for Apple in China. Android is well position to push away iOS but Apple feels the competition and modifies its features. At the beginning of iOS multitasking was excluded as not compatible with main function: making telephone connections. After Android showed multitasking Apple solve the problem in a very attractive way. I sense that Adobe Flash will be added to Apple iOS. There might be some other features Apple is growing in the backyard to make the iOS more attractive or maybe available to other manufactures (?).
Parser, There's a self-congratulatory delusion gaining ground in the US about Apple's iPhone and how it is set to take over the world. Yes, much of the rest of the globe also likes the iPhone but much of the rest of the globe is actually happily using other devices running on non-Apple operating systems. Apple may be the rage in North America but it is not in other countries. In fact, I believe it did not gain much traction in Japan. China is on its own wavelength and Europeans are not swooning over the iPhone although it has a large share of the smartphone market.
Before July 2007 the kings of the cell phone market were Nokia, RIM and Motorola among more than dozen other manufactures. In 2009 just two years later Apple with the iPhone is in third position in world sales. Their brand identity is innovation, support and customer loyalty. I do not see this as a delusion. I think Android OS and Google are trying to repeat Apple’s success and they are on the right path, although Apple does not stop to amaze with its innovations.
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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