applemagic

tallest skil said:

applemagic said:

Schiller probably had no choice but to respond… ...on Twitter.

… really.

Well, you truncated my statement in a way that suggests something I didn't mean, so, not really. :-)

All I meant was that, in my perception, once he had been asked directly about it, he could not be either equivocal or silent about it.

avon b7 said:

Rayz2016 said:

avon b7 said:

slurpy said:

Even if he did...and? I'm sure every single kind of idea and course of action was discussed and thrown around when developing the iPhone. Steve Jobs did a shitload of 180s himself. He didn't even want an AppStore. Even if Schiller thought a KB might be best at some point in time, I'm not going to hold that against him or pretend he's unfit for the job because of it. 

Also, I don't trust a word that comes out of Faddels mouth. It's well known that he consistently exaggerated his role and accomplishments at Apple in order to bring more legitimacy and hype to his new company (now sold out to Google of course). 

Agreed. It doesn't matter at all but Schiller is a bit prone to impulsive comments. When you have Twitter nearby it doesn't make for a good combination. He should have spoken to Fadell first and Fadell would have told him the conversations were recorded. In that case Schiller should have asked him to retract what he said or, in the case of the claim being true, ride the storm (in a teacup to begin with) or just admit it was true and move on. A physical keyboard (at that time) might have even been a decent idea. It depends on how it is implemented. Saying it was incorrect when, indirectly, someone is supporting the claim and that the claim was recorded, is bound to make things worse.

Something similar surely happened with the new MBP. I'm convinced that internally, Apple was divided on the thinness issue.

Except Schiller has stated that he never wanted a keyboard on the iPhone. 

Mechant didn't speak to Schiller; he spoke to Fadell  who is denying he said any such thing. So Schiller isn't actually making anything worse because this really doesn't have anything to do with him. 

My guess is that Fadell foolishly said it in a moment of grandstanding and now he has to walk it back. 

Schiller is making it worse not only by commenting but by denying what was attributed to him. It's not his fault of course but instead of tweeting, the best option would have a 'hey Faddell, clean this thing up' and then wait for the, author to reflect Fadell's correction. The focus would stay on Fadell.

Now the focus is equally on Schiller, Fadell and the author, as people are obviously curious to know what was said and in what context, which could in turn lead to other people (who were privy to the original  opinions of those involved) chiming in and things getting even more attention than is really needed.

You seem to have the issue muddled in your mind. Schiller probably had no choice but to respond unequivocally once the question was put to him directly on Twitter. He loses no credibility in this whole exchange, unless other ex-Apple sources contradict him; and, even then, people would be more willing to believe Schiller than an ex-employee, who might have an axe to grind.

With Merchant now claiming he has an audio of Tony Fadell making this comment, the focus really is on him and Fadell. I would say it's Fadell's credibility on the line right now, especially if it turns out that he did make the comment in the interview. At least for me, it would make it clear that he was lying through his teeth to Merchant, for God knows what reason, to put it mildly.

maestro64 said:

rogifan_new said:

So Apple admitting price matters in certain markets?

The same thing happens in pharmaceuticals, drugs which we pay a $1 a pill here in US sells for $0.10 in India, the pill still costs $0.50 to make but the margins they make off US sales helps support sales in other countries like India. 

You might want to educate yourself a bit more before making such sweeping statements that have no basis in facts. The reason drugs cost less in India is that a bunch of Indian pharma companies make generic versions of brand name drugs after R&D. Here's a link that's relevant, though a bit dated:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/09/will-india-still-supply-cheap-drugs-to-the-world/

That same link will tell you that the WTO and TRIPS agreements now make it next to impossible for Indian companies to continue making those cheap generics. 

jbdragon said:

Is it worth building a factory to make iPhones there so Apple can have a Apple store there? I don't know? 2.5 million is a drop in the bucket for iPhone sales. Is it really a growing market? I really don't know. I really don't see things magically changing anytime soon. Maybe Apple see's something I don't.

People in India attach an aspirational value to Apple products that they probably don't to any other company or manufacturer in the computer and electronics industry space. I once worked for the South Asian branch of an international non-profit and we were tasked with helping non-profits leverage ICT better. I can never forget my surprise when I visited a non-profit in New Delhi that was working at the community level (slums and less privileged communities) and found nearly half a dozen iMacs in use for all their official, DTP work. And, this was in the year 2001.

I have a client with nearly 80 Macs (desktops and laptops) in daily use for his office. He has a mere three to four Windows machines and hates them with a passion. Nearly all major media production houses in India use Macs in a very big way. The opportunity is so large and the market so under-served that I am seriously considering adding an Enterprise Mac services practice to our company (we are into managed IT services). 

Coming to the recent iPhone products, there has been a massive print media campaign over the last month where Apple resellers in India have been offering the latest iPhone, iPads and Macbook Pros at hefty discounts and cashbacks through tie-ups with major credit card issuing banks. These offers have high uptake and make Apple products more affordable even for the slightly affluent section among the middle class.

Bottom line: Apple has a great future in India and having a factory here will probably become a tipping point towards a much wider adoption of all Apple products down the line and not just iPhones.

SpamSandwich said:

There are 540 billionaires in the US.

There are 213 billionaires in China.

In India, a country with a population just shy of China's, there are only 84 billionaires.

So, only billionaires purchase iPhones? That's news to me.