Apple
Apple is a cool company with cool products. The Mac has die hard followers - true believers. But they are few and far between.
Here's an interesting stat:
13% PC market share in 1993
2.7% PC Market share in 2004
Yeah, Macs are used heavily in ad agencies, print industry and in the creative industry.But that
really doesn't account for much.
With their PC prices at such high levels ($800 and above), they still consider themselves a premium brand. The fact that most software runs on Windows doesn't help them much either.
There is a crisis on hand however, Macs are dying and the PC segment needs to be seriously reworked.
Apple however has moved very smartly into the entertainment segment with the iPod. The iPods rock. With the largest market share in this segment they are perfectly poised for growth
of music and video content delivery on the net.
Will this be their future growth ? Will they get completely out of the PC industry and move completely and smoothly over to the entertainment segment.
Most companies that do not concentrate on their core business, irrespective of their innovations, cannot sustain themselves for future growth.
What do u think ?
posted by brain freeze at 2:12 PM
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15 Comments:
I disagree about the IPod. Apple's big thing has been that their products "look" cool. Apart from the cool factor, most people also care about "functionality" and "bang-for-the-buck". Why pay for a 20-GB IPod when I can a 40-GB MP3 player at the same price with a different brand?
Usability is another problem I have with Apple as in ITunes. I'd rather pay MSN Music the money and download songs that I can upload onto any player I have instead of buying from ITunes and becoming a prisoner of the brand since ITunes will not let me upload to any other MP3 players except the IPod?
1:10 PM
True, but ipod has captured the imagination of the users. Only time will tell. Steve Jobs will make sure that you use the iPod for everything. He will stay one step ahead of the competition.
Being a prisoner of a brand can be hell if it isn't Apple ;-)
10:06 PM
iPod..iPod..iPod..i am sick of reading and hearing about this thing. There are better products out there if u really bothered to look
10:17 PM
guys..chill...
iPod has changed the world and will continue to do so..there are more exciting things on the way.
This will become a device that would be used for a range of things. Haven't we all dreamed of having one device that does many things. Well..here it is ..the iPod. Slowly but surely you will have your life in your palms and ears..
The possibilities are endless.
10:20 PM
iPod has captured the imagination of the people. They are nicely priced as well making it available to all strata of people. I like their dial. That was innovative...Apple style....
Hope it doesn't die the death similar to the Mac..
Steve ..are u listening...
10:46 PM
I think that the industry Apple is in, is called by Economists as 'Monopolistic competition'. (Let me explain what it means before I forget what it means - It is an industry where there are too many players, so your margin is too low or your volume is too low. The only way to survive and be profitable is to continuously innovate and keep having the first mover advantage).
IPod truly started a great revolution in music listening. Now the videos as well. It was a great advantage for Apple, as their revenue figures indicated. But I doubt if they are going to be able to keep up with that just with the help of IPod. The other day I went to CompUSA I saw a very nice MP3 player 20GB for $99, it can record my voice, it can store other regular files so I could transport them also, and it could even clean the dishes for me. Sorry the last one is just in my wanted features list.
Mr. A.C was saying earlier today about a very nice mp3 player shiny etc, but that everybody only wants IPod. This is one point which might play into Apple's favor, like how A&Fitch could lure the youth to brand its ware. Again, I think that it would be hard for Apple to keep up with just the IPod in the long run - low price competitors are already eating its share. I would agree that it is good for us consumers if Apple keeps at it with great new products.
11:01 PM
Raghu,
you got the point I was trying to make. My husband wanted to buy me an IPod. I was not really interested in the size or the looks of the MP3 player - all I cared about was that the MP3 player play music well and have enough capacity to hold all my music (roughly 20+GB at the point). It was a simple thing for me to choose a Creative Zen over the IPod, as it gave me more bang for my buck.
Similarly, most tech-savvy kids these days are not just buying from ITunes, they are also buying from sites like allofmp3.com that offer the latest downloads for pennies (literally two cents/MB) - why would they want an IPod that they cannot use with any other service but ITunes?
Also, we need to think that when kids see us old-fogeys (the 30-something-generation) flashing the IPods, will they still think it is cool?
2:00 PM
So..lets break it down..
You might get more bang for buck by going in for another player..
The fact remains that its cool...
BMW vs Acura situation.
Its cooler to have a BMW than an Acura.
2nd part...you can still get ur mp3s from elsewhere and use iTunes to load it into iPod. iTunes is the conveyer. Thats it..the source of an mp3 can be from anywhere.
3rd point - that is what i found most interesting and am probably not in a position to answer..will kids find it cool to use if over 30s are using it..good question..
And that is where Steve jumps in..
He will make it a cellphone, podcasting, music playing, game playing, Organizing and potentially critical information holding device that would cater to various segments of the population.
4:50 PM
"Steve Jobs Controls the Universe"
Its more than just an ipod....
Steve Jobs wants to sit in your couch....
To read more, click the link below....
http://yahoo.smartmoney.com/Techsmart/index.cfm?story=20051208&afl=yahoo
9:24 PM
Yes, Shanti, I too would not care to spend big bucks just to be able to display my mp3 device.
Steve, I think car is a different issue - I am not much into cars, but with cars there is so much differentiation to consider, hard to figure out the value for the money, quality issues, resale value, whether you have to take a longer or shorter route to the mountain and so on. With mp3 players, if you are able to decipher a good quality sound then there are just too many choices with big price differences.
It is definitely considered cool by many to show and talk about iPod. I am with you on that Steve, and with the anonymous arbitrator, dreamer, and that woman who came to the CompUSA store that day straight to the man selling the ipod, got the iPod, the iPod Safety (warranty!), the accessories, and just went home.
But would I buy iPod? No. I can get much more bang for the buck with the other equivalent products. The x and y gen would go for the iPod, but I wonder how many college-going students consider it hep to get the iPod even if spending more...
9:44 PM
Ganesh, the url you provided is not fully visible, could you type the part starting from /steve?
9:48 PM
I hear that Apple is starting to leverage the revival in its brand due to the iPod in the PC market. After using and linking iPod/iTunes, people are starting to explore iMacs/iBooks as well. I get to see the Macs on the best seller lists on Amazon. I don't have any numbers, but I am sure that Apple is hoping that iPod will help them do more than just conquer the digital music market.
11:53 AM
Raghu Seems like the URL is quite alright I was able to use it.
2:18 PM
The iPod has captured the eye of the users like no other MP3 player has.I have a mini and I am already drooling over the nano.
The pod has ease-of-use like no other player. I've had a rio player as well as a creative player (that I returned), dinking around trying to get that crap to work was not worth the money I would save. The iPod rocks!!
Companies that can reinvent themselves are the ones that will survive. You sustain the core business till you move into the next big area of growth.
10:39 AM
I have been having a problem with the iPod iTrip (Griffin Tech)
Anybody else with the same..before..all the naysayers jump..and say aha..there u go..
nope i still love this thing..
Looking into the video ipod now ;-)
12:53 AM
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