HP shareholders question why company isn't more like Apple

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  • Reply 21 of 129
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member
    On an aside, can someone explain to me why companies like HP and ATT have such utterly horrid support sites?



    I mean, they are both massive tech companies. You're telling me that they can't manage to hire ANYONE who can make their web-support sites actually navigable? Jesus.



    If they could get it to GeoCitites level, I would be happy.
  • Reply 22 of 129
    The decline of HP started years ago with Carly.



    The core of HP was innovation and quality. Now that is lost.



    More recently HP has attempted to 'Market' its way to success, while relying on the rivers of golden ink to keep it afloat.



    HP believed that innovation could be purchased. It outsourced design and development. It hollowed out the core of the original HP.



    Not one HP product is a category leader (except ink). All the PC desktops, laptops, servers are very average and the corporate world knows this. They just ask HP. Dell, Acer and Lenovo in each couple of years and pick the most cost effective products for a period.



    Now the juggernaut is in decline. How does HP stop the decline when it has 'cultured out' innovation.



    Meanwhile the Executive Team rearranges the deck chairs to make the printer group part of the PC group so next time they need to report performance the shareholders won't need to be informed about bad things are getting.



    Too bad. HP was once a great company - Now it is in the hands of the MBAs so unless something dramatic happens, IMHO, I think it is terminal.
  • Reply 23 of 129
    techboytechboy Posts: 183member
    When HP starts to innovate and actually deliver better products...NOT just cheap...they got a long way to catch up or Apple can start sinking like a ship with these rumors of smaller ipad or larger iphone.
  • Reply 24 of 129
    conrailconrail Posts: 489member
    Why isn't HP more like Apple? Hmmm, could it be because they keep hiring CEOs like Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman? Or because they cater to the Wal-Marts of the world by providing low quality crap with the company name proudly plastered all over it? Bloated product line?
  • Reply 25 of 129
    nicromanicroma Posts: 17member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Fotoformat View Post


    What a grim smile... are those her upper or lower teeth?



    The proportions of her face are hurting my brain.
  • Reply 26 of 129
    tnttnt Posts: 21member
    IMO In order to be a CEO at any Tech company they should take the candidate to the R & D labs, show him/her whatever they have and are working on, take a look at the patents the company holds and he/she should come up with an idea of a product that anyone who try it wants it. Doesn't matter if is not revolutionary or innovative (that would be a plus) but it has to be desirable, useful and of great quality.

    HP has the resources to get back in track but lately it seems that their problems are caused by the lack of vision and creativity.

    I doubt they will sink anytime soon but under a good management they would be much better.

  • Reply 27 of 129
    jasenj1jasenj1 Posts: 923member
    HP died when they spun off Agilent. The heart and soul of HP went to Agilent. I wish the names had been reversed. HP staying the test & measurement company with some other name becoming the PC & printer company.



    That being said, HP is still big enough to have some serious R&D chops. But I don't think they have the vision to turn the R&D into insanely great products.



    - Jasen.
  • Reply 28 of 129
    jdsonicejdsonice Posts: 156member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mike Fix View Post


    I remember once when HP made fun of Apple for giving tours of Jobs' garage. Now Apple is building a new campus on land that was once owned by HP.



    Is that not ironic.
  • Reply 29 of 129
    jdsonicejdsonice Posts: 156member
    I personally think the answer is very simple.



    HP CEO DOES NOT EQUAL STEVE JOBS (Or TIM COOK).
  • Reply 30 of 129
    haarhaar Posts: 563member
    when HP spun off the equipment division... that was the beginning if the end of the apple-like HP... does HP sell anything that defines an era? ... HP made the first frequency generator... and the frequency counter with the classic nixie tubes (the vacuum tubes with the numbers the glow invdivually) mad scientist



    Today their pro division is ok, but really why can't they produce a high-quantity printer that costs 200 dollars and can print 10000 pages on one ink cartiridge for a penny a page in ink cost.... (not laser)





    or just increase the size of the cartridges by 4 and half the price of them...



    or just make the cartridges refillable at home... or , or , or

    they could remain as they are, and exist... one does not have the grow at the expense of crappy products.
  • Reply 31 of 129
    simtubsimtub Posts: 277member
    Apple is Apple because of Steve Jobs, his Vision and his ability to hire great people. Nuff Said.
  • Reply 32 of 129
    dbtincdbtinc Posts: 134member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sipadan View Post


    Captain, isn't that an iceberg coming by starboard?



    no, I think the question is "should we straighten up the deck chairs?"
  • Reply 33 of 129
    bullheadbullhead Posts: 493member
    HP is a Microsoft clone maker. There is no way to innovate; there is nothing to differentiate their products with. They do what all the other clone makers do, race to the bottom in pricing and create complicated and confusing product lines around spec sheets to try and squeeze out a few more pennies from confused customers.



    HP had a shot with the Palm OS to actually be innovative and break free from the Microsoft cloner market. but they killed that. No cloner will ever be like Apple while they are a slave to Microsoft for the heart of the computers/phones/tablets.
  • Reply 34 of 129
    dbtincdbtinc Posts: 134member
    (snipped)



    "Meg couldn't lead a creative, highly driven engineering vision to fruition due to having none of these qualities in her."



    The author here has hit the nail on the head. Technology leaders have disappeared to be replaced by Harvard MBA's and bean counters.
  • Reply 35 of 129
    dbtincdbtinc Posts: 134member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nicroma View Post


    The proportions of her face are hurting my brain.



    how 'bout you posting a pic of your puss?
  • Reply 36 of 129
    because they keep putting people like her in charge...
  • Reply 37 of 129
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by bullhead View Post


    HP is a Microsoft clone maker. There is no way to innovate; there is nothing to differentiate their products with. They do what all the other clone makers do, race to the bottom in pricing and create complicated and confusing product lines around spec sheets to try and squeeze out a few more pennies from confused customers.



    HP had a shot with the Palm OS to actually be innovative and break free from the Microsoft cloner market. but they killed that. No cloner will ever be like Apple while they are a slave to Microsoft for the heart of the computers/phones/tablets.





    Bingo! +1



    It's the hardware/software combination that makes Apple so great. HP has no control over the software. They install whatever Microsoft supplies them with. They have no say in the matter other than to make sure their hardware runs Microsoft software without issues.



    This brings up the recent reports about Android developers losing interest because of fragmentation. In this case you have both the hardware and software being modfied, tweaked, altered, customized and wind up with a jumbled mess. Apple absolutely made the right decision to demand total control of the hardware/software from the carriers.



    Unless you have total control you can't really innovate. You are at the mercy of whomever your partner is.
  • Reply 38 of 129
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    This is too easy, HP isn't in love with their products.
  • Reply 39 of 129
    mrstepmrstep Posts: 513member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by dbtinc View Post


    no, I think the question is "should we straighten up the deck chairs?"



    They just announced some deck chair straightening a couple of days ago, didn't they? (Sorry, I meant business unit re-org.)



    So they're not going to acquire disruptive technology (which Apple does do - from NeXT to iTunes to Siri...) AND they got rid of the in-house capability to develop things. Yep, what they really need is another shuffling of management/org charts, that should fix everything!
  • Reply 40 of 129
    drfreemandrfreeman Posts: 111member
    Although everyone is right to criticise HP for its shortcomings in



    1. HP printers could have a much better interface as opposed to a messy interface and lots of non essential software that they try to push to you (this is not limited to HP though)

    2. Horrible website that I as a buyer would not really use for support!

    3. Horrible sale website with models that cannot be distinguished from one another! I mean they do not need to become like Apple and only have one desktop. But come on there are too many models!

    4. I partially blame MS for being too lazy in order to bring a new OS out!



    However HP is doing well in some areas like security!

    http://h17007.www1.hp.com/uk/en/solu...ity/index.aspx



    I would not be surprised that HP would focus more on these areas as opposed to computer/printer market!
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