Apple's Strategy

Steve Jobs is known for creating revolutionary products and launching them like a box office thriller. The movie producers should learn a few tips from him! The launch of IPhone marked a new milestone in the history of tech products. Now, it is the time for IPad. What is IPad? In the last few years, the world has seen that the technological gap between a phone and a computer is reducing. Earlier people were satisfied with a basic phone which can be used to communicate only. Gradually the products’ expected features like internet, WAP and data processing abilities crept into the basic features. However, mobile manufacturers could not break the ice to think further, which Apple has done. Apple is trying to create a new segment where people want a multipurpose mobile device through which all basic needs of a mobile and a computer can be experienced with ease. IPhone implemented this unique ‘Filling the Gap’ strategy successfully. It seems that Apple has made this ‘Filling the Gap’ strategy it’s unique selling proposition. Is it sustainable? The sustainability of a strategy depends on the entry barrier for competitors. If the entry barrier is low then apart from the first mover advantage, Apple will have nothing. It will not be able to milk this newly created segment for a long time. One feature which is valuable about this product is that more than one lakh applets can be accessed through this device. These features are currently used in Iphones and IPad is compatible with it. So, the product is different but the features are developed on a common platform which can be used only on Apple products. It reminds me of the era when Apple tried to rule the market with Macs which could use only Apple’s applications and software. This strategy of Apple decades ago, did not last much because the competitors could sniff it and Microsoft and IBM reaped the benefits. Is it that this time the competitors are not aware or Apple has done its homework well enough. Apple has penetrated deep enough in most of the developed markets with its platform featured products IPhone, iTouch and IPod. Gradually they are moving back towards the PC in terms of features. WOW! Steve Jobs seems to implement his old strategy well enough to reach the levels of Microsoft with huge strategic advantages. Analysts say that IPad will not be able to replace the PC/Laptop market but you do not know what Apple is all for. It will not be surprising if Steve introduces an iPC which will run on the same platform used for iPod, iPhone and iPad.

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It is now time for Kodak to sue Apple and RIM. Kodak says that the technology for previewing pictures is patented by them. These patented technologies are exploited in iPhones and BlackBerrys. Kodak has already filed a complaint against them in the International Trade Comission, USA.Now, With Apple, Nokia and Google already in news for the bad things this will add some more spice in the international patent war.

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Morphie, one of the leading third party app manufacturer would be launching a credit card reader application that would facilitate the user to process credit card transactions on the move. Morphie claims that the application would use the wireless connection of the iPhone to connect to the payment gateway. The launch is expected to be a part of the upcoming 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The complete details of the applications are still unknown but it is believed that the application would be competing against another mobile phone payment app called Square, which is being developed by the co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey.

Critics believe that the success of the devices would largely depend on the pricing of the apps and could change the way transactions are done in the future.

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Here is a list of some of the best innovations to have hit the technology world during the course of last 10 years.

Apple iPhone - When iPhone was introduced back in 2008, the world stopped for a moment and even competitors were left without answers. No one before that thought of providing the user with crystal clear display and a touch screen that could be operated without a stylus. It changed the mobile market forever with the mobile apps.

OpenOffice.org-MS Office domination in the office suite applications was unchallenged and Microsoft was sitting in an empire that was unchallenged. Then in July 2000 arrived OpenOffice.org, a free utility which made sure that MS Office and Microsoft were no longer number one

Microsoft Windows XP – When Microsoft launched Windows XP, it was a huge hit right away. Microsoft launched many Operating Systems after the launch of Windows XP, but people have been unwilling to let go of XP. While XP has been successful; it is ironical that XP has been the cause of people disliking the future versions of Windows.

Apple iPod- Before 2001, people never thought they could carry 1000’s of music in their pockets. In October 2001, the iPod name became synonymous with portable media.

Nintendo WII – Do you want to play golf like you do in real life. Just take a swing as if you are holding the club. This is what Nintendo WII gave the world. A simple design and innovative idea soon became a Gamers’ delight and outsold competitors like PS3 and XBOX 360.

Opera Mini – Opera Mini paved the way for mobile internet browsing by rendering desktop version of websites with ease on the mobile. What extra it gave was great download algorithms to speed up download. And guess what, it worked on every mobile. So how much did you have to pay for it? Nothing! It was free and has been one of the must downloads for any mobiles.

Gmail – Google brought the Gmail providing users with a clean and simple UI to access mails that was meant for just one purpose. Check mails at blazing speeds. The mails would open within seconds. Also the user would not have to worry about space any more with GMAIL providing unlimited storage. And what’s more it was free as well.

Sony Playstation 2 – Videogames seemed to be lost when PC arrived. But with the launch of Sony playstation boasting close to 2000 games and sales of close to 140 million units, gamers had shifted their interest back to the video games consoles. Playstaion offered brilliant graphics and amazing feedback.

Amazon Kindle- Do you want to read books digitally but don’t want to strain your eyes reading books on a mobile. Meet Amazon Kindle – a light weight eBook reader that would let you browse and download books without the need of a wire and needs to be recharged once very 14 days. You can read and store 1000 of eBooks and reading on it simulates the feel of reading a real book.

The latest news surrounding Apple is that it is planning to launch the 4^th generation iPhone on June 28, 2010. It is being speculated that the new device will boast a 5- megapixel camera. The earlier model lacked the high resolution camera and photos on the previous models looked average when compared to other high end camera mobile phones. Apple has tried to correct this flaw of the earlier models.

It is also being speculated that Apple is estimating to sell around 40 to 45 million iPhones for the year 2010. According to speculations, Apple could be launching the iPhone 4 in a ‘Corporate Event’ which is scheduled to be organized from June 28 to July 2^nd, 2010 in San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

Price wars, Political wars and now wars on patents. Today, with the world’s financial engine gaining momentum once again after the housing bubble, the coming years seem to be tough time for analysts.

Infringement of patents was seen as an integral part of emerging nations until recently when two top notch organizations from the developed nations jumped in the battle field arguing hard on the patent infringements.

In October, the lord of the ‘I’s (Apple) was accused by the King of ‘N’s (Nokia) for 10 patent infringements related to wireless data, speech technology, security and encryption technologies. Nokia, one of the largest player in the handsets market, has spend more than 40 billion Euros in the last two decades on R&D to develop such technologies. Nokia has agreement with more than 40 handset manufacturers world over for the usage of its technologies, however, Apple is an exception.

In early December, Apple counter attacked rival Nokia with 13 patent infringements!

And now Nokia has filed a case in International Trade Commission (ITC) against Apple.

Nokia experienced first quarter loss after a decade whereas Apple touched profits of $1.6 billion, thanks to the growth in sales of iPods and iPhones. Nokia is finding it difficult to digest this and doing all sort of analysis to find the root cause. In the race to satisfy the shareholders both these companies are compromising with their brand values which is built over decades. Who will win this patent war? Apple, Nokia or other competitors

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I am sure you wouldn’t be bored for quite some time to come. Still here are some of the cool apps that will surely make you love your iPhone even more.

Pandora: This is a free personalized internet radio that lets you listen to songs on your iPhone. Just punch in an artist name and Pandora automatically plays you a list of songs. Having an account only helps as this would let you create your own customized play list

Remote: It turns your iPhone into a remote control for you Apple TV. You can use it to play the songs, see the playlists on your iPhone as if you were seated right in front of the PC. This is a free tool and needs WI-FI to work. Click her to download Remote.

SportsTap: If you are a sports fan and want live results of your favorite sports like NBA, NFL, Soccer, PGA etc, Sports Tap offers a nice free app. This app works fine even on EDGE Technology.

AOL Instant Messenger (AIM): You can access your AOL Instant Messenger using this app.

AirMe: Now just click a photo and upload it to your flicker Account.

Exposure: This can be used to browse your Flickr photos, or see photos that have been taken in the area.

Google Mobile App: Use it to get valuable search results on your handset. You can also search through your contact list using this tool.

MixMeister Scratch: Use this tool to “scratch” music clips.

Most iPhone lovers in India would have been unhappy with the pricing of the iPhone.
The price at Rs 31000 for 8 GB and 36,000 for 16 GB is almost more than 4 times the price of an iPhone in US.
So what prompted the Apple to sell the new iPhone at such a high price? Let’s look at some of the reasons.
1. Apple doesn’t want that an iPhone is seen in every tom Dick and Harry’s hand. They are promoting it as a status symbol in India meaning only a few would be able to get their hands on this. Thus for people who really are iPhone lovers and have the courage to spend such a high price, iPhone is only for those gadgets lovers.
2. In US, Apple makes money by providing additional chargeable services paid through the Apple Store. In US, people need to buy mp3 and mobile applications from online stores. In India, these services are free. Thus Apple would not have alternate ways to earn money in India.
3. By increasing the prices by almost three times, Apple can breathe a sigh of relief as there would not be an immediate huge demand in India.

So is it worth buying now? Well people who want to look elite would be buying it now. But soon the hacked model would be available in the market. So more buyers would actually wait and watch to see if Apple does intend on slashing the prices of the iPhone.

• Price – Rs 31000 for 8GB and 36000 for 16GB
• No 3G features available
• No video calling
• no AD2P on the Bluetooth
• No option to share MP3 ,Images and Videos using bluetooth
• 2 MegaPixel Camera
• No Video Recording
• No Flash
• No physical keyboard . Need to use stylus
• Battery if damaged cannot be replaced manually
• Cannot be used as a external disk to store data

Also Read : Iphone on Fire – Literally

The price of new IPhone as suggested by Vodafone and Airtel is Rs 31000 for a 8GB model and Rs 36000 GB for a 16GB Model. The iPhone in the US is for $200 (nearly Rs8100). What’s even more surprising is that Vodafone is actually asking you to book the iPhone by paying Rs 10,000 (nearly $2500) as advance. There is a huge demand for iPhone but I am not sure how successful the iPhone would be if the prices do not come down. One of the major reasons for such a huge popularity of iPhone 3G was that the price in the US was almost slashed by half, thus making it affordable to the common mass. In India, how many people would be ready to shell out Rs. 31000 for an iPhone, not many? In fact Vodafone would have been much better of having a longer subscription and reducing the prices. Also local vendors in India are promising that the iPhone would be available in a few days for a price of Rs 12,000 to Rs 16000. Now that’s a deal worth waiting for.