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To Stay on Top, Apple Needs to Learn Lessons From Past
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2005 at 2:00 PM - by Brad Cook
Apple reinvented the MP3 player industry with the iPod, but Kieren McCarthy, writing for The Guardian, warns that the company should pay heed to the lessons of past failures if it wants to stay on top. For example, notes the writer, even though the Newton led the way in the world of handheld information management devices, Steve Jobs killed it upon his return to the company in 1997.
Unfortunately, Ms. McCarthy makes some mistakes in her article, such as describing the Apple II as a disaster when its days were numbered anyway in light of the Mac's development. Or saying that Mr. Jobs' insistence on the Power Mac Cube not having a fan was what led to Apple discontinuing the product, when in reality it likely failed because it didn't really fit into the company's computer matrix.
She also writes that Apple deciding to not license the Mac OS "was the biggest mistake [it] ever made. [Bill] Gates decided to do it himself with Windows and the rest is history." Certainly, there's no way to really know what would have happened to the Mac's market share if Mr. Jobs had remained with the company, but it's not a stretch to think it wouldn't have lost its position so quickly.
Of course, the issue at hand is whether or not Apple can retain its dominant market share with the iPod. As Ms. McCarthy notes: "Apple risks losing the market by insisting everyone do it its way ... It will only take one company to produce and license a sharper piece of software for Apple's products to become just one among the compatible many."
In addition, she writes, "Apple's apparent refusal to budge from its decided [commercial] model [for the iTunes Music Store] is an echo of past stubbornness. One music industry executive said negotiating with Apple was like dealing with a cult." She believes that once Apple sees its iPod dominance begin to erode, the company won't have much bargaining room with record companies.
Owen Linzmayer, author of Apple Confidential 2.0, told the reporter: "There is a chance that Apple will stumble. But it may simply be because they have pointed the way to the future of music, been terrifically successful, and have attracted swarms of competitors. With so many people gunning for the market leader, it's almost inevitable that you'll be shot in the back sooner or later."
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