I'm going to start this off by saying that I have an iPhone 4, had an iPhone 3G and have been a big fan of Mac OS and the iPad. Apple has a lot going for it because their products do 'just work', set design to a new level in consumer electronics and are so simple that a toddler intuitively knows how to use their devices.
Also in the interest of full disclosure I have to admit that I work for HP which makes competing devices although I work in the services division not in any of the hardware groups. So, I while I receive a paycheck from a rival hardware manufacturer I also do not receive an income from hardware or software products that are in competition with Apple.
Now, to the question in the title: Has Apple jumped the shark? Why do I bring this up? Because for the last year plus look at all of the developments that Apple has deployed for themselves rather than their user community. Sure, iOS4 gave us multitasking but left out a notifications and any form of new UI. In addition, they left out any way to make your information easier to use. They point out that by going with Android you need to become a systems integrator by having to make your Android apps work for your version of Android OS. However, Apple leaves out how much effort you need to put in to manage your data from various sources on the web as the web becomes more and more important to our everyday lives.
And in the same span of time what have they give themselves? Well, with the advent of the iPad they gave themselves iBooks to generate revenue when users of the iPad and later the iPhone purchased books or reading material. Sure, there are many classics for free but their objective was to generate revenue and end competition from Amazon and the other book sellers.
With iOS4 they also gave themselves iAd to add more revenue and prevent Google from dominating ads generated from eyeballs on products running iOS. And most recently, Apple gave themselves a subscription service to again take 30% revenue from newspapers and magazines readers who just happen to own an iPhone or iPad.
Today, we're close to the eve of the iPad2 release. Judging from the past we know that Apple will deliver a device that is lighter, faster, has better battery life, is built to even more demanding standards and likely with upgraded Apple applications which are a leap forward in usability from the previous generation. We expect that iTunes will somehow appear on the web and MobileMe will be free. Good to keep up with Google and other free services on the web but is it enough for the Apple user.
Is Apple going to give us another incremental advance or are they going to knock the cover off of the ball and give us something truly remarkable. Truly remarkable is hard to do on a regular basis, but it is long over due from Apple. We've seen little more than incremental from Apple for quite some time. Sure, Steve Jobs had been absent from the company twice since the iPhone launch. He's managed to ensure the company's products keep getting better but are they so far ahead of the competition that they cannot be beaten? We will know soon by what they give their customers - something for the customers or something for themselves.
Also in the interest of full disclosure I have to admit that I work for HP which makes competing devices although I work in the services division not in any of the hardware groups. So, I while I receive a paycheck from a rival hardware manufacturer I also do not receive an income from hardware or software products that are in competition with Apple.
Now, to the question in the title: Has Apple jumped the shark? Why do I bring this up? Because for the last year plus look at all of the developments that Apple has deployed for themselves rather than their user community. Sure, iOS4 gave us multitasking but left out a notifications and any form of new UI. In addition, they left out any way to make your information easier to use. They point out that by going with Android you need to become a systems integrator by having to make your Android apps work for your version of Android OS. However, Apple leaves out how much effort you need to put in to manage your data from various sources on the web as the web becomes more and more important to our everyday lives.
And in the same span of time what have they give themselves? Well, with the advent of the iPad they gave themselves iBooks to generate revenue when users of the iPad and later the iPhone purchased books or reading material. Sure, there are many classics for free but their objective was to generate revenue and end competition from Amazon and the other book sellers.
With iOS4 they also gave themselves iAd to add more revenue and prevent Google from dominating ads generated from eyeballs on products running iOS. And most recently, Apple gave themselves a subscription service to again take 30% revenue from newspapers and magazines readers who just happen to own an iPhone or iPad.
Today, we're close to the eve of the iPad2 release. Judging from the past we know that Apple will deliver a device that is lighter, faster, has better battery life, is built to even more demanding standards and likely with upgraded Apple applications which are a leap forward in usability from the previous generation. We expect that iTunes will somehow appear on the web and MobileMe will be free. Good to keep up with Google and other free services on the web but is it enough for the Apple user.
Is Apple going to give us another incremental advance or are they going to knock the cover off of the ball and give us something truly remarkable. Truly remarkable is hard to do on a regular basis, but it is long over due from Apple. We've seen little more than incremental from Apple for quite some time. Sure, Steve Jobs had been absent from the company twice since the iPhone launch. He's managed to ensure the company's products keep getting better but are they so far ahead of the competition that they cannot be beaten? We will know soon by what they give their customers - something for the customers or something for themselves.
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