Trout

iTrader: (1)

Messiah Machine

Geezer

I've never really understood why Apple do so well. Their products are overpriced, under specced and generally done as well or better for less money by other manufacturers.

Even their much touted 'secure' OS has had some whopping holes in it recently.

Geezer

Markus

It's mainly down to very clever and astute marketing. They see themselves as a premier product and charge accordingly, same kind of thing with BMW vs Ford (I will admit to stealing the BMW bit from someone else's post about the subject - Ah it was your comment Geezer).

With Apple as with BMW, you do get some right coffee bean shakers, and of course well rounded and normal individuals.

Apple seems to have this knack to find a market and then develop and release a product that does what the market leaders can do, but also has the "sex" / "wow" factor, and it's that which appeals to people, and makes the products desirable.

In the arena of computers, instead of a dull beige box they created something more pleasing to the eye, something you don't mind having on your desk, yes, smugness abounds from this, but if it didn't work, for example the OS was utter crap then it'd be a failure, but the OS does work. You can still run Office, get email, surf the internet, which I'd say are the main things people would do on a windows based PC.

Gaming, ah, there's a thorn in the side of Apple. I think they really should have a sub Mac Pro desktop, something with expandability, but not as the insane price you need to pay for a Mac Pro. I don't game that much, so I don't know how well the top spec 24" iMac compares to other gaming rigs, but I'd presume not overly well as we are more likely talking about a desktop machine/monitor combo (iMac) vs a tower (be it slim-line casing or full on tower) for a PC.
Obviously the PC can be overclocked, graphics cards upgraded, water-cooled and all other things to squeeze the best performance for gaming from it, something that with an iMac you can't do as it's not in the form factor it should be for gaming.

Geezer

I think that's probably a good observation. They do manage to make their products very appealing, no matter what the reality is. Not that iPod or iPhone etc. are bad, but they are not stellar.

Also, they are often the first, which counts, as they are seen as innovators.

Geezer

Markus

The comment about being first is a very good one. Tycho echos it in this on PA today, in fact, I think his description of how Apple works is pretty much spot on.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Or another way of looking at it - a product is not a product unless it has a market - no matter how good it is!

Apple creates markets; and around each market it creates an ecosystem. Brilliantly and profoundly compelling in the case of the iPhone; building on the pervasive iTunes building on the iPod.

The other thing that Apple does which must also be really annoying to it's competitors is that it takes a fee for the provision of content (iTunes again). And with 100,000 apps and millions of iTunes that is a pretty tasty little earner.

Sony's approach was to buy the content at source - quite an expensive way of achieving a less successful result.

A brand expert quite a few years ago said that great brands were verbs. Apple's brand was loud and clear...

Apple opposes.

Which it does very well as seen in this very thread and so takes a big chunk of the market.

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Trout, very good article that

We should not be surprised now at how Apple can bring a product to the public .note I didnt mention market as Apple has a knack for creating a market around certain products which themselves have a whole ecosystem, be it the first mac in 1984, the ipod, the iphone and now the forthcoming slate/ipad etc

The last three differ because there was a market already present but what they brought to that particular market was something different and made us all look at it in a different way...the way of paying for it. We all know that we can pay for music but who would have thought that we would pay for little apps on a phone ??

The article really hits home when it talks about the written word and newspapers/magazines and how the tablet has many industries and markets hoping for a shift in how the public will consume this.
Quite telling is the remark here
It demonstrates how much influence Apple does have on the media/consumer market on the back of what it has done to other areas. Many people may wish APPle and Jobs to fail but for everyone there is someone else who wants them to succeed for purely monetary reasons aside from the mac faithful

Wednesday will indeed be an interesting day

My one prediction will be this.
The islate, ipad or whatever will be a cool sexy gadget and will sell in its thousands on launch but it will not be until the 2nd or third incarnation of it before we see a noticeable shift in how the public buy into it and its content, just like the iphone was quite revolutionary at first but did not really make an impact in both consumers and business until later on.

Markus

The e-book thing is a very interesting point. I'll be honest and say that I had not really considered e-books. I don't want to read them on my desktop as it's not a comfy place to do so. The laptop is a bit too cumbersome as well, even though I can be propped up in bed or sitting on the train. Now, the iPhone (and other smartphones/PDA's) well, I thought it was too small a screen size, but I have downloaded a reader app and a free e-book and had a quick read of a couple of pages and I must say it's not too bad an experience.

Now, the rumors are the iPad will be about 10" in size and I think that might just be a nice perfect size for an e-book reader. We know Amazon has the Kindle and Barnes and noble have their Nook. I'll admit to not having used any of the devices but I'm not sure what features beyond book reading/downloading they provide. I'm guessing they won't be able to download apps to do other things, as the iPad will, so again Apple will have another multifunctional device, and I think it really will be rather good as an e-book reader.

I have this feeling that it is going to shake things up in the e-book arena in the same way the iPod and iPhone have, I think you could be right on the timeframe, but again my instinct tells me that the iPad is the device that will give the market the push into the mainstream.

It being an Apple device I'm curious about it in general about it, but I am also very curious as to Apple's aims with it. I guess we'll see this week.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I think the thing about a shift in payment for things like Newspapers will be easy. Like pressing an app button and getting charged 10p for today's copy of the Times.

I can see it catching on!

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

only problem there is :
a) what will I use instead of newspaper for lighting myfire, stuffing down my sins football boots to dry them and for using as padding in parcels ?
B) how can your average worker sit in a cafe without his daily rag and and a nice cuppa ?

Though saying that paying my 20p so I can download and read at my luxury page 3 of the sun is a cracking idea

I am posting this on my iPhone on the train , something I would not have dreamed of doing on any other phone. Just goes to show you

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I think you have hit on the importance of market segmentation

What you can do it stick your iPhone on charge in your sons footie boots and the gentle warmth will dry them out

Iain Young

I think the impact on the e-book market (i.e things like Kindle) will be slight unless they good a very good battery life on the new machine. I think the kindle can run for a whole week with heavy use on a single charge...

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

They already make the isock for the phone so maybe you are onto something there

fat chance
The iphone if it was only used as a phone would last for ages but because it is so blooming useful at other guff like games, browsing etc the battery is dead in a nanosecond. I guess the slate will be the same. Use it as an e-bookreader and it will last for ages, but then then you will notice something like a game and Bam, you are screwed

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

a bit more to digest whilst we wait

Apple's Tablet: a gizmo to save the world - Telegraph