Why Apple was right and IBM was wrong

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 25 September 2008 12:56

Opinion and Analysis

And don't forget that Apple and Google have what seems to be a fairly close relationship, and Google's CEO Eric Schmidt is also an Apple director.

Quittner also says "unlike Apple, which listens only to [CEO Steve] Jobs, these [Android] manufacturers will be listening to the market."

Some time ago, I heard an Apple executive (I think it was Jonathan Ive, but I could be wrong about that) say that Apple didn't use focus groups in the creation of new products because people don't know what they want or need until they've got it. Instead, the company pursues a vision of what will be a great product.

Sometimes the market agrees, sometimes it doesn't. Do you remember the way a lot of commentators thought the original iPod was too expensive to be a success? I certainly didn't buy one, but a whole heap of people did.

But that doesn't mean Apple doesn't respond to feedback. The iPod was followed by the less expensive iPod mini and the extremely affordable iPod shuffle. It's easier to bring out a lower-cost version of what's seen as a premium product than the reverse, which is why carmakers had to create new brands such as Lexus.

Quittner may be right when he suggests that Apple's iPhone developer relations needs improvement, but don't write off the iPhone in the face of the looming Android onslaught.

Just as Apple managed to carve out an extraordinarily profitable business in the face of the Wintel hegemony, I see no reason to assume it couldn't do the same with the iPhone.