peter02l

Apples to Apples: Will History Repeat Itself as Android Gains on the iPhone?

I don't see how any of your arguments and analogies hold.

Your account of the rise of MSDOS is a bit off. Apple did not have anything like a virtual monopoly. They never had a 90% market share, not even 50%.

Why should we substitute MSDOS with Andriod? Why not with Windows Mobile, or even better, with Symbian? Both are available on smartphones from multiple manufacturers, and both are losing market share. Furthermore, Symbian is now open source and free just like Android. So availability on phones from many manufacturers is not necessarily a recipe for success. Not to mention that both of these existed way before the iPhone. In fact, the only smartphone manufacturer that has been able to hold it's market share even after the release of the iPhone is Research in Motion, which like Apple makes the hardware and the software. So this business model in smartphones seems to be superior.

As for the rubbish camera! You probably have not used the iPhone. It's camera produces superior quality pictures to many smartphone cameras with higher megapixel specs.

If there were a company that is a marketing company first and a technology company second, I don't know how Microsoft slipped your mind. The amount of press they buy, the pre-announcements of upcoming technologies, and the money they spend is notorious. Apple's marketing budget for a company it's size is not anything to brag about. If you mean they know how to successfully spend that money, I agree you are right. But Apple is a technology company first. Their software, hardware, and industrial design are arguably ahead of competitors in using technology to provide solutions that work better and are enjoyable to use.

The iPhone, just as with Andriod based phones is available from multiple carriers in many countries. And those who have not signed any distribution contracts are very eager to do so. So there is no barrier there.

It is amusing that you finally say:

"In terms of range of products they have left every other platform behind. However the business model employed here is easily copied."

This business model is one that ties the software, ecosystem and the hardware to the same company. The only way Google can copy this is to make their own smartphone. I am sure you have heard the rumors, but I don't think there is a chance of that happening.

As for developing for several devices simultaneously, it is not as easy as you think. It's very expensive and code maintenance is a challenge. If it were easy, developers would not have abandoned the Macintosh in the 90s. Most developers find it more cost effective to limit their efforts to the dominant platform. That is the relevant lesson from the MSDOS days.

Google Should Make Apple Beg for Maps Navigation

"Google says its navigation will come to iPhone, if Apple approves"


www.appleinsider.com/a...

So much for begging!

Google Should Make Apple Beg for Maps Navigation

"When Google announced what is clearly the best car navigation application on any mobile Wednesday, it didn’t just take a swipe at GPS navigation companies such as Garmin and TomTom. It took a swipe at Apple."

So it is just fiction that Garmin and TomTom are reporting lower earnings?

"Navigation apps are a key category for mobile phones, and the iPhone is for once at a disadvantage here."

So Symbian and Windows Mobile based phones are in no disadvantage because they have this category well covered?

"Other than the browser, Apple has little else to call its own other than the core phone, contacts and calendar features."

Are you being purposely disingenuous? What about iTunes, iPod? The iPhone

Microsoft: Whistling in the Dark

" Microsoft works fine as a monopoly and it has been skilled in maintaining its monopoly with intelligent and innovative monopolistic practices."

A great way to put it.

Blackberry’s 26 Advantages over iPhone

> 1. Blackberry can be used on almost every carrier in the world
> (over 475 of them). In the US, the iPhone is available on AT&T (T)
> only."

How many carriers offer Backberry Storm 9530 in the US?
How about Backberry Tour 9630?
How about Backberry Curve 8330?
How about Backberry Curve 8320?
Or Backberry Curve Sunset?

Thanks for offering a better perspective in comparing carriers offering a Blackberry phone in the world ((over 475 of them) to ones offering iPhone in the US only. Keep up the good work.

Blackberry’s 26 Advantages over iPhone

What about at a maximum, or just average?


On Aug 10 12:10 PM Anton Wahlman wrote:

> At a minimum, it happens by using a program called iskoot.com.
>
>
> On Aug 10 12:05 PM Indy wrote:

Quitting the iPhone, Moving on to Google Voice

You should move to Microsoft Phone in six months. It's great that you got T-Mobile to supply you a myTouch phone for free for a test period. Once the MS Phone comes out you can write an article complaining about myTouch phone and get new phone to test.

Did T-Mobile offer you the phone service free to test as well?

I got a little confused about this:
"Now I’m a happy Google Voice customer."
and this:
"Want to port your mobile number to Google Voice and do what I’ve done? You can’t just yet, but porting will be released later this year publicly."

What sort of a customer are you that you can get a service unavailable to anyone else?

Should the FCC Force Apple to Stock Competitive Products in Its Own Store?

"I like how the FCC is studying whether it was wrong for Apple to chose which products should be sold in it's own shop. I mean, it's pretty normal that if someone owned their own store, they wouldn't want to place threatening products from their competitors in it."

This is the core of the issue? Will Apple be investigated next for what products it allows to be sold at its physical Apple Stores? Does the government have the right to enquire why a certain peripheral maker's product is not sold there?

I Quit the iPhone

Good riddance.

10 Reasons Not to Buy Apple

On Jul 08 02:21 AM Paul H. M. wrote:

> "Don't you dare mention that anybody has a chance against them!"

Pray tell, who and how?

> "Don't you even THINK that at this price, it might be better to wait!
> Even when the market retreats, this stock will shoot up like a rocket!
> "If you're not long on AAPL 100 percent of the time, you're an idiot!"

No one here is claiming you should be be long anything 100% of the time, or when the stock will shoot up or that you should jump in and put all your money into AAPL.

> Jesus, guys. The IPhone is pretty cool, but why not just address
> his points without all the hate?

There is no mention of hate either, just incompetence.

> Seriously guys, its dangerous to fall in love with your stock.
> That's how you end up holding at $200, and riding it down to $80.
> Only a company with major threats would rise and fall so easily.
> That much is obvious.

No dear boy. In case you were born yesterday, let me inform you that in addition to investors we have speculators, manipulators, people who need to raise cash to cover other losses, etc. Do you blame the quality of a house when its price doubles and then halves in a matter of a few years? Was there something wrong with the oil that was pumped out of the ground last year that we saw prices go to $140 and then back down to $60?

This Hao Jin fellow comes up with 10 reasons to claim Apple is a bad investment. Not one of them has to do with its valuation or the company's financial condition. He doesn't even suggest that the tanking economy will hurt any other company than Apple. Palm, Nokia, etc. are supposedly in a position to offer stiffer competition in this economy. Microsoft, with it's "90%" OS share is not cited as bad investment because of a "saturated" OS market. Why does he bring up Sony's walkman in the fifth "reason"? Is he suggesting that the 385 million is a ceiling for number of music players a company can hope to sell?

On top of that most of his numbers and claims are factually incorrect. Apple's iTunes store passed Walmart to become the top music seller in April of 2008. Ho says it's third behind Best Buy!

I suppose someone who writes stuff on a financial web site should be aiming to inform people. In this case, the readers are informing this guy how wrong his information is. And it's not just one or two or five errors - it's just about everything he says. That, is embarrassing.

10 Reasons Not to Buy Apple

If anything, the iPod could be argued to cannibalize the iPhone, given iPod touch does everything except the phone part.

Selling to the consumer market is a risk? Sorry, but the corporate market is where most of the trouble is. Even Microsoft is laying people off. If you need further proof, look at the Dell results.

It is shamfully embarrasing to suggest Apple makes less than $30 on iPhones.

Are you suggesting Apple is planning new "substantial fixed investment in equipment, lease improvements and inventory controls in all its 250+ store?

Nokia and Palm have been losing market share in the smartphone category ever since the iPhone came out. Palm may not even be around a year from now, with its negative equity, heavy debt, and the rate it's burning through cash. RIMM's 2 for 1 sale is over. They will start losing market share this year. Some competition!

The most ridiculous statement is number 4. That statistic hasn't changed from last year, or are you suggesting 90% of people have smart phones? Do you actually believe that people who buy cell phones these days never owned one before?

Regarding Steve's health and SEC investigations: give it a rest, that horse is dead.
Can you say with a straight face that you expect all phone manufacturers to offer phones which will be a central controls for home entertainment systems, and Apple for some reason will miss the boat? Never mind that there is a remote app for Apple TV.

PALM: Ready to Break Out?

You seem to forget when iPhone initially came out there were no products quite like it. Pre on the other hand was one-upped in a week.


On Jul 02 03:43 PM Techno-Iconoclast wrote:

> Wow there's a lot of revisionist history going on here with the iFanatics.
> Do none of you remember when the iPhone launched? Did it have 3G?
> No. Did it have MMS or tethering? No. Did it have an App Store
> at all or 3rd party applications? No. Did it have initial QC and
> supply problems? Yes. Does the latest model still have QC problems?
> Yes, just google for "overheating 3gs".
>
> Does Palm still have a long way to go? Sure they do. Will they
> be plagued by the same problems as in the past? Probably not, because
> two of the guys that did the real work to turn Apple around are now
> at the helm at Palm. These guys know how to deliver products and
> how to run an organization that designs and builds groundbreaking
> products.
>
> Is Palm going to 'break out'? They have a decent chance if they
> can capitalize on this momentum over the next two years just like
> Apple did over the last 3 years. The smartphone market is only growing.
> To say that Palm and RIMM aren't going to be stealing overall share
> from Motorola, Nokia and Sony/Ericsson is just naive. The big three
> in smartphones will most likely be Apple, Palm and RIMM in two years
> unless someone drops the ball.

Is Execution More Important than Vision?

Just those two categories? So there aren't any that are good visionaries and also great in execution? Or those who suck at both? What about those who can spot talent well and and end up hiring good visionaries who are great at execution?


Fixed it. That second sentence was particularly bad!

Is Execution More Important than Vision?

Just those two categories? So there aren't any that hare good visionaries and also great in executions? Or those who suck at both? What about those who can spot talent well and and end up hiring good visionaries who are great at execution?

Does Palm's Pre Have Anything on the iPhone or Storm?

On May 12 11:33 AM Marco Hickey wrote:

> Okay, I apologize for making a couple of typo's... Instablogging
> at 2:30 AM certainly has its downfalls. My article was aimed at getting
> the opinion of the readers... I think if the webOS is a success,
> Palm will have an iPhone competitor in no time... What good does
> it do to get so angry? ;-)

Do you realize how silly your statement is?

"I think if the webOS is a success, Palm will have an iPhone competitor in no time... "

For the WebOS to be a success - as it is only available on the Palm Pre - Pre must sell very well, with sales rivaling the iPhone.

There are other factors that determine whether Pre will sell well however: Will there be a viable infrastructure for putting music and video content on the Pre? Will there be enough developers writing applications and will there be an easy way to purchase and install them? I know there will only be web apps, but how can you monetize them? Developers want to sell their apps. Also, will people dump their Blackberries and iPhones and switch to Sprint?

Palm has enough cash to last a few more months, perhaps not even to the end of 2009. If this thing doesn't sell like hot cakes, they will be in major trouble since they have already given up on all their other products. Pre has to sell at least a couple of million in the next six months for Palm to return to the market share and the revenue they had just two years ago. I think that's a tall order, especially in this economic condition.

By the way RIM is the big dog here. Why does everyone uses Apple as the yardstick.