What's Happening To Apple, And How They Can Atone

[Craig]

One can only imagine what's going on behind closed doors at Apple these days. If they're not being investigated by the FCC over an application that blocks phone company-like features from their iPhone and AT&T's network, they're trying to silence consumers from reporting potential problems with their products. Add to that the fact Apple is about to introduce another much anticipated product in the form of an internet tablet device that some say is a game changer for the industry. Such a product launch cannot be without its own level of unforeseen issues. Oh, and what about the most well-known tech blogger in the world ditching his iPhone as a public statement to the whole Google Voice debacle? That last one landed on the desks of the the most powerful people at Apple and AT&T, you can bet on that fact. Why not... one more, banning one of the more prolific developers from the App Store. Genius move ladies.

With so many ups and downs, we have to wonder if Steve Jobs picked the wrong time to come back to run the company. I'm sure his doctor was hoping for a less stressful third tenure at the helm of the good ship Macintosh. No matter what the doctor ordered, all levels of challenges are seemingly coming down on this one-time internet darling in ways they haven't seen in a very long time, if ever at all. Things are downright nasty in the press lately about Apple no matter how you slice it, they've got competitors barking at their doors in several of their biggest segments, and the biggest caveat they're facing today: some believe that they're getting too big to be cool anymore.

As bad as all of that sounds (and rightfully so) all is not lost with Apple. With so many great innovations coming into their own respective apex levels of product cycles (App store, iPhone, MacBooks, OS X), Apple is poised to make an even more substantial impact on the technology industry than they current have.

What Apple needs to do is unfortunately against the very being of their internal fiber. For decades Apple has not focused on marketshare as much as they have the product and experience for its end users. For example, one of the ways that they can ensure a quality experience on OS X is to be sure it is running on adequate hardware, hence they do not sell software meant to run on anything other than their computers. Of course it doesn't hurt their bottom line that this forces you to buy a Macintosh computer with its higher-than-industry-standard margins if you're interested in OS X.

So for Apple to take the next step in the evolution of their company is a tough call for sure. If they hope to continue to be as much a part of every e-device user's daily life as they chirp about wanting to be, they need to understand that such a market position comes with trade-offs.

Apple needs to step back and loosen the leash a little, plain and simple. The Experience is suffering in ways that they could never have envisioned years ago before they became such a dominant player in the handheld market, and adjustments now need to be made. Yet this does not mean such drastic policy changes as allowing anyone to submit anything to the App Store and have it approved, or allowing iPhones to be unlocked and available on any carrier (though one can dream!). What it means is being more honest about the responsibilities they have as one of the largest gatekeepers to the new digital age and allowing a bit more openness in the way they do things.

For example, Apple should not let AT&T dictate anything about the iPhone and how it works other than such issues as network security or potentially harmful usage patterns that could bring down Ma Bell's lines and adversely affect other AT&T users. Apple needs to make it clear that AT&T is essentially the ISP here and that Apple is bringing them millions of new subscribers with the iPhone. And likewise, AT&T needs to own up to the reality of the situation and admit that they are just a dumb pipe for iPhone users who can't seem to get enough of mobile Safari and other internet applications throughout the day. AT&T's responsibility in this matter is also finding a way to allow more of a selection for iPhone users when it comes to building a usage plan. Like maybe a text message program between 200 and 1500! AT&T should build an ala carte service program with more tiers of features and limits that works for their customer's usage behaviors, not for AT&T's executive bonus pool.

By not providing a reasonably priced and flexible service platform for the iPhone, AT&T is negatively affecting that Apple Experience we were initially talking about... and Apple needs to start putting pressure where it counts on AT&T if for no other reason than because any tech company's customers who are spending money in this economy deserve as much.

All of this comes back to, what's going on at Apple. Are they simply learning that they cannot be as closed a company as they traditionally have been with lesser marketshare? Sure they are. The FCC doesn't really care if you're a small player, but when you're suddenly interwoven into the very fabric of today's US consumer, you have a huge target painted on your back. Such is just a fact of industrial life. The iPhone was a double edged sword for Apple. Good in that lots of people bought them, but bad because they run on a network that is heavily regulated by the US government. Caveats indeed.

There is a lot going good for Apple right now and a lot of that has to do with Steve Jobs. But I believe that once Jobs is no longer in the executive cat bird's seat (stay with me here), they will not be as stubborn about their closed-environments and the truly brilliant people that make Steve's (and other's) ideas come to life will be allowed to engineer and develop even more of that Apple Experience into future products and services. And they will do such with a much more open means to be more things to more people, across platforms and service environments.

So essentially we have a lot to be happy about as iFans and tech geeks alike. Apple is changing the very direction of industrial technologies all around which is spurring further innovation across various market segments. They just need to remember that not all innovation or direction can (or should) come from within one organization. At some point in history, even the most talented and innovative companies have had to break their mold and realize that they don't have all the right answers to all of life's questions all the time... and that's a good thing.

[DennyCrane]

Until I see some significant numbers showing not only a loss of market share, but a lack of growth, I think Apple should continue as they are. They own the portable music player market, they're solidly embedded in the cell phone market, and for whatever reason, they're still growing their computer and laptop market share.

The squakers that are making noise now? Follow the money. I'll bet you'll find it's coming from their competitors camps. Apple worries people who have their own stakes in the different markets and a phone call here, a rumor there... yeah, they all have their bags of dirty tricks to play. And as far as those FCC letters, it's much ado about nothing, IMHO. Barring some revelation that Blackberry or someone donated lots of cash to Politician X who called the FCC and started this debacle, I think this will quickly become a page 16 story and then disappear all together.

[K_Dog]

I think Apple is fine they are going through the when it rains it pours syndrome. Most if not all companies go through this when your company is in the public eye the problems can be more perceived than real. Even with all the problems I doubt many users are willing to trade their Apple products. I also doubt Apple is ready to change their closed system ways just yet.

[CoffeeShark]

The only thing wrong with Apple is that you expect more out of them than simply running a business. They don't exist to make life better for the society, and once people understand that, Apple's moves are not unexpected.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by CoffeeShark

The only thing wrong with Apple is that you expect more out of them than simply running a business. They don't exist to make life better for the society, and once people understand that, Apple's moves are not unexpected.

Surely this is true. And being publicly traded has never helped any company do the right thing. Yet at the core of it all, Apple has always tried to do better, to be better, to be different. They've become the IBM they loathed in past years to many people.

One has to wonder, is Google next?

[CoffeeShark]

Google is far past done. With their issues in China, lack of support on software like Gmail, and wishy-washy open-source behavior, I think they're approaching the Death Star in popularity already.

Apple could throw out a $50 rebate and all the iPeople would be happy with them again.

[SonicSpeed]

Originally Posted by Craig

Surely this is true. And being publicly traded has never helped any company do the right thing. Yet at the core of it all, Apple has always tried to do better, to be better, to be different. They've become the IBM they loathed in past years to many people.

One has to wonder, is Google next?

Google will be next to fall into that role. However, Google is even scarier in that role because we don't really know much about their practices relative to Apple or Microsoft.

EDIT: On another note, if ATT would allow it, I would gladly pick up a iPhone 3G (since I'm cheap) if they didn't force a data package on top of it (I get WiFi in 95% of the places I go anyway.

[Craig]

Originally Posted by SonicSpeed

EDIT: On another note, if ATT would allow it, I would gladly pick up a iPhone 3G (since I'm cheap) if they didn't force a data package on top of it (I get WiFi in 95% of the places I go anyway.

Spot on Sonic. That's exactly what I'm talking about. You're probably one of a million folks that would buy an iPhone, pay the carrier fees for phone calls, but don't need $360 a year on data. At the very least, they stand to hook a certain percentage of folks to the data plans once they have signed them up for voice. Makes perfect sense, but AT&T seems to not have such a vision.

[DennyCrane]

Originally Posted by Craig

Surely this is true. And being publicly traded has never helped any company do the right thing. Yet at the core of it all, Apple has always tried to do better, to be better, to be different. They've become the IBM they loathed in past years to many people.

One has to wonder, is Google next?

lol... subtle

[SonicSpeed]

Originally Posted by Craig

Spot on Sonic. That's exactly what I'm talking about. You're probably one of a million folks that would buy an iPhone, pay the carrier fees for phone calls, but don't need $360 a year on data. At the very least, they stand to hook a certain percentage of folks to the data plans once they have signed them up for voice. Makes perfect sense, but AT&T seems to not have such a vision.

I was actually able to get a Blackberry without the data plan, but I'm assuming the process of getting an iPhone on the website is different than any other phone. I have 1 month until my 2 year contract, although my BB bit the dust err... wash 6 months in (been using an iPaq 6515/Blackjack).


Although I'll probably end up getting the first Android phone under $100 (HTC Lancaster rumored for tomorrow), or maybe wait until we see a snapdragon-based phone (LG Monaco, potentially end of sept).