John Sculley says Apple needs cheap iPhone for emerging smartphone markets

124678

Comments

  • Reply 61 of 143


    Hey, I'm wondering what Apple should do... who would I talk to? Oh yah, I'll ask one of the worst CEOs in Apple's history and the guy who fired Steve Jobs. Sure.

  • Reply 62 of 143
    takeo wrote: »
    Sculley should have stuck to selling sugar water

    Corn syrup. It's cheaper and therefore more "tailored for emerging markets."
  • Reply 63 of 143
    welshdogwelshdog Posts: 1,914member


    In my mind Sculley only made one real mistake.  That was signing the look and feel of the Mac windowed desktop environment over to Microsoft IN PERPETUITY.


    As a CEO I don't think you ever sign a document that has the word "perpetuity" in it.


     


    So when it comes to things Sculley says, do as George Costanza did - become Opposite George.

  • Reply 64 of 143


    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post

    Corn syrup. It's cheaper and therefore more "tailored for emerging markets."


    Unhumorously enough, that's backward. It's the third world backwaters that get the natural sugar; we're stuck with HFCS… ????

  • Reply 65 of 143


    You're good in making sugared water sculley. Just stay like that.

  • Reply 66 of 143

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    The sheer UNITY of response here is absolutely tremendous.



     


    Well, at least TWO of the usual suspects agreed with Sculley that Apple should 'diversify' and and sell cheap phones to poor countries, lest they lose the race to the bottom like they did in the PC market.

  • Reply 67 of 143
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    Unhumorously enough, that's backward. It's the third world backwaters that get the natural sugar; we're stuck with HFCS… ????



    Yeah.


     


    If I'm not mistaken, Mexican Coke (the drinkable Coke, not the kind that you snort up your nose) contains real sugar cane, while virtually everything here in the US (including Coke), uses HFCS.

  • Reply 68 of 143

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MacRulez View Post


    Because one-size-fits-all doesn't.


     


    The worst thing about Sculley's remark is its obviousness.


     


    Apple doesn't sell just one type of computer, and sooner or later they'll start diversifying their phones as well.


     


    Apple is too big and too smart to cede so much of the market to competitors.  I'm surprised so many here underestimate Apple's scope.



     


    Such last-century thinking.


     


    Apple doesn't sell just one type of mobile device, either. They have MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs, iPads, iPad minis, iPhone 4, 4S & 5, and an array of iPods. Even more diversity than looking at it by "computers". Yet, the one thing none of these displays of diversity does not show is a pandering to the expectations of analysts, nor a participation in a commodity market.


     


    This call for Apple to enter the cheap "smartphone" market is just netbooks revisited. An insistence that they must enter a market with no profits simply because "everyone" is doing it. Apple is too smart to cede its business strategy to analysts. I'm surprised so many keep repeating the mistaken ideas of the past.

  • Reply 68 of 143
    Can't wait until Apple announces a cheaper phone for emerging markets, so I can hear all the experts hear talk about what a great idea it is, and how important emerging markets are, etc.
  • Reply 70 of 143

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Yeah.


     


    If I'm not mistaken, Mexican Coke (the drinkable Coke, not the kind that you snort up your nose) contains real sugar cane, while virtually everything here in the US (including Coke), uses HFCS.



     


    Corn subsidies. They have to do something with all that corn.

  • Reply 71 of 143


    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post

    Corn subsidies. They have to do something with all that corn.


     


    "Grow something else instead" isn't an option? image




    Heck, keep it out of food: give it all to ethanol. We have sugarcane going to ethanol! That's crazy!

  • Reply 72 of 143
    richl wrote: »
    He's the former CEO of Apple for a reason. 

    Yep. And what phone did they release on his watch. How high did the stock value go on his watch

    And what tech company has he run since then. Correction, what reasonably successful tech company has he run
  • Reply 73 of 143
    drblank wrote: »
    hey Sculley,

    YOU'RE FIRED and are NOT coming back to Apple. Apple already has older gen iPhones that are sold to emerging markets as low cost iPhones.

    Where exactly are these emerging markets that insist on buying no contract phones for no more than $200.

    Asia? Well something like 60% of the resellers buying phones in the US to 'grey market' are sending them to China. Where they are sold for full price plus in droves.

    Russia, Poland etc? Apparently that's 25-30% of the resellers, same game

    So where's this market that won't buy these 'too expensive' iPhones
  • Reply 74 of 143

    Quote:


    What I am wondering is what features would this "cheaper" iphone have that the more "expensive" one would not have?




    B/W Retina display.


    Outgoing voice communication only


    Incomming text only.


    No Battrey A/C conenction only

  • Reply 75 of 143
    cmfcmf Posts: 67member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anonymouse View Post


     


    You have to give Gil at least a little credit for saving Apple. He did pay NeXT to acquire Apple, and afterward, if he had had any clue what he was doing and been able to hang on to his job, things might have been very different.



     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MacManFelix View Post


    Me too. At least he didn't totally, completely suck as CEO (not quite).



     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post





    Spot on.


     


    Sculley probably gets more blame than he deserves for Apple's missteps in the late 80's/early 90's time frame. Granted by the time he was forced out, Apple should have seen the writing on the wall and changed course. Instead they hired one idiot (who, aside from the transition to Power PC was completely incompetent) and then another (whose only saving grace was that he had the foresight to buy NeXT and bring Steve back). You would think that Amelio would have known better having been at Bell, Fairchild, and National Semi and understood the needs of Apple's customers, but he wasted it all and basically orchestrated his own departure by bringing Steve back to advise the company.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Conrail View Post



    Can't wait until Apple announces a cheaper phone for emerging markets, so I can hear all the experts hear talk about what a great idea it is, and how important emerging markets are, etc.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post





    Where exactly are these emerging markets that insist on buying no contract phones for no more than $200.



    Asia? Well something like 60% of the resellers buying phones in the US to 'grey market' are sending them to China. Where they are sold for full price plus in droves.



    Russia, Poland etc? Apparently that's 25-30% of the resellers, same game



    So where's this market that won't buy these 'too expensive' iPhones


     


    What is the reason for Apple's continued fascination with markets like China, India, etc? Granted, they are huge opportunities to gain share, but to large segments of the population, Apple is not even an option. The entire market is so focused on price that it almost seems foolish to pursue. Some of the people in these places do not earn enough in their entire working lives to afford even one Apple product, hence the gray market which has any combination of real phones being resold or knockoffs that are made so cheap that it's a miracle they work at all.  

  • Reply 76 of 143
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    cmf wrote: »
    What is the reason for Apple's continued fascination with markets like China, India, etc? Granted, they are huge opportunities to gain share, but to large segments of the population, Apple is not even an option. The entire market is so focused on price that it almost seems foolish to pursue. Some of the people in these places do not earn enough in their entire working lives to afford even one Apple product, hence the gray market which has any combination of real phones being resold or knockoffs that are made so cheap that it's a miracle they work at all.  

    Having a smaller percentage or wealthy or having a much larger percentage of poor does not mean they don't have a huge number of people that can easily afford Apple's products. Asia-Pacifici now has more millions (based on USD) than the US.
  • Reply 77 of 143
    macrulezmacrulez Posts: 2,455member


    deleted

  • Reply 78 of 143
    This guy suffers from Pepsi Brain Rot disease. Who in the world cares what John Sculley has to say about anything little less Apple Products. He damned near ruined Apple. Apple wants clean, highly engineered, quality products, not cheap crap that others might like to have so nay, nay on cheap iPhones. Let the rest of the world "catch the vision or catch the bus!"
  • Reply 79 of 143


    Sculley…


     


    You were an idiot way back when… You’re an idiot now… AND, that’s why Jobs FIRED YOU BEFORE !!! 


     


    SHUT THE FU** UP AND GO AWAY !!! 


     


    NOW!!!!

  • Reply 80 of 143


    Originally Posted by Bwinski View Post

    …that’s why Jobs FIRED YOU BEFORE !!! 


     


    Well, hired. By the time Jobs came back to Apple, Sculley was long gone.

Sign In or Register to comment.