Apple...years ahead but still behind

satchmo

This article touches upon Dell's upcoming digital products announcement. In it, an analyst also mentions how bricks and mortar are still important to customers.



I mean how many years ahead is Apple? This digital hub thing was touted way back and only now has Dell had the balls to jump into the fray? We also have Apple Stores all across the U.S. so people can try out the hardware before buying.



Now if only, Apple could just get it's message out there to the masses instead of only to us Mac heads!





http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...tory/Business/



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"Why not sell all these new technologies to leverage off the PC? They are all connected to the PC; the PC is the kind of heartbeat centre," Kevin Rollins, Dell president and chief operating officer, said in an interview yesterday.



"It just makes a lot of sense. I think companies that don't have that centre of the orbit are actually put at risk in their consumer products strategies."





Dell's diversification strategy brings with it increased competition from a long list of industry leaders, a who's who of consumer electronics that includes Sony Corp., handheld device leader Palm Inc. and a growing number of on-line music providers, including Apple Computer Inc."There is little original here," Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple said in a brief statement. "Apple offers iTunes, the best and most popular on-line music store, and iPod, the best and most popular portable digital music player, an unbeatable combination that our competitors haven't even come close to."

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macsrgood4u

Quote:

Now if only, Apple could just get it's message out there to the masses instead of only to us Mac heads!

I believe part of the problem continues to be Apple's advertising. It remains elitist to an extent, dry and too wimpy. It needs to appeal to everyman or everywoman or whatever and not convey SJ's zen philosophy and minimalism. There's also the fact that like it or not Apple lost the war years ago when they made a strategic decision not to license their technology (ok they did for a while) and allow Microsoft to overrun them. Apple can win some battles, but they will remain a small player in the computer world. They are not really a "niche" player since they offer product similar to others. If they can increase their market share to 7 to 10 percent in the next two years they'll be fine. In the end it's the bottom line that matters and they're doing reasonably well in that area.

wrong robot

Apple just needs to tell people what their computers can do.





people out there still think that they are fruit-flavored kids toys with one-button mice and no software.



I'm serious...remember my thread on this? well I've since talked to more people who bring up similar points when talking about why they hate macs.



I think apple should have an ad, where two friends are talking, where one friend is the apple guru guy and the other is a newcomer straight out of windows, cut back and forth between them and a computer screen, where they are talking about all that macs CAN do, plain and simple. Then the beauty part would be, the camera pans out in the end to reveal they were chatting with iChat AV the whole time.



something like that at least, none of this guy-gets-blown-out-of-house-in-awe-of-new-computers-aluminum-ness no abstract white backround artsy few words wicked camera angles.



Apple just needs to tell people what they CAN do. straight up, you seen a dell ad? most of them talk about what you CAN do "it's so easy to take digital pictures, organize them, burn them to disc, watch them on your TV, put on your pants, make coffee, drive to compusa, buy a dell"



they are annoying ads, but they work because then when some random guy is like "my family needs a new computer" the dell with all its promises and claims sticks in his mind, what incentive or motivation has apple provided to be remembered and "for your consideration"'ed?



/rant off

macsrgood4u

I think the current G5 ads are annoying. Who wants a computer that blows up your house. Just saying, "the fastest desk top computer" doesn't do it in my opinion.

frank777

When I first saw that ad, I thought that, post 9-11 & Iraq, the guy who came up with that ad should be posted to Apple's Middle East offices.

satchmo

My read is that the recent G5 commercials are Apple's way to dispel the other myth that they are slower than Windows based machines.



It's difficult to address every issue in one commercial. But I wish Apple would follow up with more that touch and demonstrate it's other benefits.



Some of the recent ads were headed in the right direction such as:



-iPod/iTunes /with dancing guy (however it may have been a bit too vague for some)

-iDVD /wedding on the beach (straight forward and effective)

mark_wilkins

Quote:

Originally posted by MacsRGood4U

I believe part of the problem continues to be Apple's advertising. It remains elitist to an extent, dry and too wimpy.

I'm not sure how those adjectives apply to the G5 ad where the guy's blown out of his house.



-- Mark

nwhysee

^Yeah, but how often do you see that on regular "everyman" primetime tv viewing hours?

wrong robot

Quote:

Originally posted by nwhysee

^Yeah, but how often do you see that on regular "everyman" primetime tv viewing hours?

actually for a couple weeks I couldn't turn on the TV without seeing that ad. MTV played it all the time, as well as NBC and CBS and FOX.

dog almighty

I had a crowd of people gathered around me in comm. tech class today ogling my 20GB iPod. It's just that no one's ever seen their products, baaad marketing (or lack, thereof), but just one glance causes many a wow.



My iPod died later in the afternoon from a defect, but I'm sure the public would flock to the ones that work.