Apple's New Strategy : "Go In Second"
Remember how Apple used to develop wild technology, pimp it for three months then never mention it again?
I think things have changed for Apple. They now use industry-standard parts and open source code. They wait until a market matures a bit before trying to lead the sector down the road singlehandedly. The iPod is a great example of how the company allowed a market to develop and cycle a bit before jumping in with their own product.
This strategy allows the company to more closely follow public demand, and may really allow it to grow the market over time.
Going second isn't always a bad thing because you let others develop the market and discover the pitfalls.
I think things have changed for Apple. They now use industry-standard parts and open source code. They wait until a market matures a bit before trying to lead the sector down the road singlehandedly. The iPod is a great example of how the company allowed a market to develop and cycle a bit before jumping in with their own product.
This strategy allows the company to more closely follow public demand, and may really allow it to grow the market over time.
Going second isn't always a bad thing because you let others develop the market and discover the pitfalls.
Comments
Other than the Newton, nothing really amazing and original comes to mind in the last 15 years of Apple's history.
Their technology that they introduce is more mainstream these days - affordable and simple DVD burning, a compact, high capacity, fast transfer rate MP3 player, a computer that adjusts to you, etc. They've gone overboard in the past. Just yesterday I read that it took them 18 months to develop the technique for putting the Blue Dalmation and Flower Power patters on the insides of the iMacs, and that only lasted five months. And remember the Apple Studio Display CRT? Mobius strip base, autocalibration, specially designed clear plastic that still acts as an rf shield... I have one, it's awesome.