Analysis - Has Apple peaked?

[hermano pequeño]

I always love how much people say the iPhone was a revolution, yet the features on it were nothing special, the fact it didn't even pack 3G. The only good thing about it was the UI, i mean symbian phones had been packing multitasking since the N series had come out, and that has only been added to the iPhone in the more recent updates, that as well as video, which is not exactly ground breaking. The reason why apple has done so well is due to the Ipod marketing halo, before the ipod wasn't Apple on the brink of going bust? (A quick check of share prices might be in order). Also the number of people that bought ipods that simple just broke within the first few weeks, then just got another one as it was "cool", maybe thats why they've done so well, releasing broken products and just using the "our customers are morons and will just pay for new ones" iPhone 4 antenna issue anyone?

1. If it was a revolution then the revolution WAS the UI
2. The reason Apple does so well is ease of use (the UI) and aesthetically pleasing design to the layman (shiny thing make it all better). You guys are mostly techies, so this would probably be superfluous to your needs. Doesn't invalidate it for everyone else though.
3. Apple was going bust until Jobs was recalled by the board on an S.O.S. The first thing he did was sack the whole board (except the chief accountant) and start again. He oversaw the release of MacOSX and the iPod after he went back to Apple, turning the fortunes of the company around. This is why he is popular with Mac fanboys.
4. iPods didn't break as I recall, I had a couple and they never broke and none of the iPods of people I knew broke either. The iPhone4 mistake is not one that would have been made back then, I think... and it certainly could be argued that the iPod was revolutionary.

Try to be a little more objective... and less frothy...

[SiM]

Ipods broke all the time... usually just after the warranty expired... look on the Internet for loads of documented cases of dead batteries and lcds.

It's a a well known fact that modern electrical goods are designed with a limited lifespan so you have to upgrade periodically. (Does not apply to only apple)

[finlay666]

It's a a well known fact that modern electrical goods are designed with a limited lifespan so you have to upgrade periodically. (Does not apply to only apple)

Where is evidence proving this?

[SiM]

Where is evidence proving this?

I cannot present you any scientific evidence as I am certain that no company would want to fund it ... but a large number of people worldwide probably agree that this is true. E.g:
-TVs from the 80s still work today, but it would be hard for you to find a 2000-2004 model plasma that still works without having multiple repairs... (I say this as my 2003 plasma has died for the 3rd time, not going to pay for repairs again!)
- Thousands of reports of dead LCD screens, non-replaceable batteries (not just apple, companies can stop making/selling proprietary batteries/chargers) etc
- I'm sure that the older guys on the forum can provide more examples, otherwise I'll let you call me a conspiracy nut.

Maybe it is that now technology is more complicated there are more places it could (and does) go wrong... or maybe lifespans and profits are negatively correlated and companies have wised up to this.... or maybe a bit of both.

[chuckskull]

I wouldn't say they're designed to fail, there's no little timer inside counting down or anything like that, but the cost/quality balance has been pushed about as far as it will go, because manufacturers know that in 5 years(not even that in a lot of markets) the next big thing will be here and everyone is going to buy it regardless.

We all want the latest tech at the cheapest prices, and we get it, it's just rather fragile. It's supply and demand, if people really wanted things that would last a long time with great reliability that's what they'd sell us, but we want the shiny, so we get sold the shiny. We pay lip service to longevity and cash for full HD turbocharged 3D powermax experience.

[kopite]

When a company resorts to this http://www.apple.com/antenna/

Things arent well.

There is no problem with the antenna yet apple create a page showing the non-problem affecting all phones.

[aidanjt]

Where is evidence proving this?

How many 10 year old electronic products do you have?

[hermano pequeño]

How many 10 year old electronic products do you have?

And how does that prove they are designed to break? We could apply this argument to any consumer purchase couldn't we?

Anyway, just pointing out the weakness of the argument. I actually agree to a large degree but think they probably don't add anything to make it break, they just don't try hard to make it last longer. My Nokias always bust after a year but I got another for free. My iPhone 3G is 2+ years old and working very well (except for Safari, which has always been painfully slow).

[crossy]

My Nokias always bust after a year but I got another for free.

Your Nokia kit will last longer if you stop using them as candles on their birthday cake!

Personally I think the old cliche about the more complex a device is, the less reliable it is, is quite true. I've got an old office-provided Nokia 6310 that's been dropped etc and only went in a drawer when the power button disappeared inside recently (turning off by removing the battery is a bit clunky for me). The 2330 that replaced it has been pretty okay. Whereas the N95 that I have as my own phone was okay to start with, but recently got very unreliable.

Likewise with the families Apple gear. iPod Mini's (my daughters') have been quite good; my iPod Nano 1st Gen has been 100% reliable; similarly my wifes 2nd Gen Nano and my 5th Gen iPod Video have been excellent products - superb adverts for Apple. Unfortunately the later gear - like the iPod Touches have been very unreliable and annoying - although the annoyance mainly seems to have come from Apple's poor firmware updates.

Good article by Hexus - certainly thought-provoking. Personally I do think that the dominance by Apple is starting to slip. If I'm in any way a typical consumer then they're really in trouble - my most recent media device purchase was a Sony Walkman A845 (excellent device - knocks the spots off of the iPod Nano at the same price), and the replacement for the N95 was a Sony X10, not an iPhone.

By the way - Jobsy has got it wrong, my X10 has no obviously signal issues caused by the means of holding it, and my N95 was kept in an enveloping aluminium case and got strong signal. So to claim that "it's a problem for all phones" is a very poor excuse.

So if Apple is going to be the haven only for the fanbois, then who's poised to take over - Sony? I really don't know - what do others think?

Bob

[jjgreenwood]

I recently replaced my imac with a pc because no new consoles had come out and I wanted a next gen gaming platform as well as a workhorse. The iphone got replaced with a samsung galaxy S cos the iphone imho cost too much and the samsung does the job just as well. The laptop is still a macbook and I can't imagine buying a normal laptop, but will a tablet come out that can replace it's function. The ipad can't but will microsoft/google produce a version of windows 7/android that can do the job?

[crossy]

The laptop is still a macbook and I can't imagine buying a normal laptop, but will a tablet come out that can replace it's function. The ipad can't but will microsoft/google produce a version of windows 7/android that can do the job?

It's a nice thought, but I can't see it myself. After all, unless you're going to shackle it with a "docking station" then typing on a tablet is always going to be far less comfortable than on a proper keyboard. This is where I think that Apple got it right - they slated (no pun intended) the iPad as a content consumption only device - which is fine, since it means little typing. Which means that I regard those pronouncements that tablets will replace laptops as pure marketing fluff.

What interests me is the efforts in making laptop devices that either replace a mouse with touch screen and/or are very fast boot. Even the iPad isn't "instant on" from cold so I'm willing to use a hibernate/wake, just as long as it's fast and reliable.

Being a Linux geek, what I like the idea of is these combo systems that have a Windows image for the "serious" stuff along with the option of a very fast boot Linux-based "browsing+mail" environment. I can't see Apple doing this, (but surely there's no reason why the next MacBook couldn't include a little iOS-based environment if needed?), but Acer, ASUS, HP et al seem more than happy to have a go.

Actually, is it me, or do HP seem to have a slew of interesting devices promised "real soon now", both laptops and tablets?

Bob