Posted on 09/24/2010 5:34:41 PM PDT by Swordmaker
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Apple Inc. is a Death Star. It pulls in most of what comes into its orbit and either overtakes or assimilates it.
The success of the company is particularly spectacular because it is largely a four-product enterprise, consisting of the iPad, iPod, Mac, and iPhone. It also produces a suite of supporting software that includes its OSX, the Safari browser, iTunes, and the App Store. These non-hardware products knit together the “iProduct” universe.
Apple’s product line stands in stark contrast to tech giants like Microsoft Corp. (MSFT 24.75, -0.03, -0.10%) , Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ 41.02, +0.04, +0.10%) , Oracle Corp. (ORCL 26.96, -0.16, -0.59%) , and Cisco Inc. (CSCO 22.17, +0.08, +0.36%) , all of which have a multitude of product lines that spreads risk and increases sales opportunities. As a result, Apple’s revenue run rate, is only over $60 billion — much smaller than that of Cisco.
Some consumers are wondering whether a tablet like the iPad can replace a laptop for travel purposes. On a recent trip to Paris, Walt Mossberg decided to find out, saying au revoir to his laptop and relying on a tablet and smartphone for work and play.
However, despite the competition’s size, Apple’s market cap is $240 billion, more than those of Oracle and Cisco combined. Perhaps the thing that Wall Street loves most about the company is that it is growing quickly, especially for a company of its size.
The reason behind its growth is simple: Apple clobbers the competition.
The Blackberry
Amazon’s Kindle
Asus
Microsoft Windows
Mozilla’s Firefox browser
Sony
Adobe Flash
Google
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
I've never been good at tolerating different perstectives myself.
Thanks for fighting the good fight. Obviously Apple is allowed to do unrestricted marketing on FR.
Calling both of your attention to post 50.
You guys seem to be at it again lately, trying to ruin the Apple threads. Just because you weren’t mentioned by name driftdiver, doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply to you as well.
Apparently you thought the heat was off, well it’s back on, from the big man himself, get the hint?, catching his “drift”?
Which app are you using for that? We're implementing iPads for corporate email using the MobileIron Enterprise solution to encrypt and secure the email on the iPads and I'd love to be able to add the functionality you're describing above for our Sr. Exec's. We're in the process of implementing Cisco's VOIP solution and campus wi-fi, so that'd be a very cool function to be able to have on the iPads!
SkyNet.......
“Calling both of your attention to post 50.”
That is fine and I will not post on any more Apple threads. I have truly tried to be respectful but I will not go where I am not wanted.
I would ask that mac fans not post their attacks on other threads. The one below is an example. If that is out of line then I am not sure what to say.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2595887/posts?page=2#3
2010 = 13,000,000
2011 = 48,000,000
2012 = 87,000,000
2013 = 198,000,000
2014 = 342,000,000
2015 = 662,000,000
So in the year 2015, Apple will sell its billionth iPad.
Why do I think this will happen? Well the iPad is an amazing product but it is only in its first generation.
With each new generation, the device will become even more useful and more affordable to the masses. Soon, people will own multiple iPads and they will nearly eliminate the need for carrying around a laptop.
The biggest hurdle with the iPad replacing the laptop is the keyboard. It is somewhat awkward to use the keyboard on the iPad screen. Many prefer the tactile feel of a real keyboard. Even though you can plug a standard keyboard into an iPad today (through USB port), it is sort of a clumsy solution.
What I see happening is that clothing manufactures will be integrating keyboards into trousers. You will have the left part of the keyboard in your left leg and the right side of the keyboard built into the right leg. In the middle (the crotch area) will be a touchpad so you can move around the screen and double-click by stroking and tapping the crotch area of your pants. (Please, no dirty thoughts, let's be mature).
For you women, they can also build keyboards into dresses and skirts. This will definitely drive iPad sales to new heights and people will no longer need to carry laptops.
Now relate that to only appealing to their base. The part of your initial post I’m actually contesting.
Persistent little disruptors, ain't they?
You'd almost think they were getting paid to do it. Either that or they're sick in the head. I prefer to think that they are mercenary bass turds, since that's easier to cure.
We know from his own statements that Puget works for Microsoft; I don't know for sure about the others.
Regardless of that, the word has been out for a few months from Redmond, that since Windows 7, as excellent a product as it is, isn't getting market penetration as quickly as MSFT would like, it's time to trash the competition again.
XP (Win7's true competition) is deeply embedded in the business workplace and a lot of homes where it's doing everything the user needs. It's proving really hard to shoehorn it out and replace it with Win7. But trashing Win XP isn't quite as satisfying as trashing Apple.
So while MSFT pulls the rug out from under XP (e.g. makes new products like IE9 incompatible with it, when they could certainly have made it compatible), the folks whose paychecks are signed in Redmond have been told that it's time to trash the folks in Cupertino and all who support them.
Which is a shame. Win7 is a truly great OS. I use it on a couple different machines, every day, and like it. If I were doing MSFT's marketing, I'd be talking about how great it is, not how Apple's niche success is false. But then, those guys are richer than I am, so they must be smarter than I am, right?
Wow!
How does that get to what you claim I stated? I’m not following...
I also work for Apple, you forgot that...
iPads aren’t for work, iPads are for reading. The might sell lots of them (though soon when the Android competition comes out that has all the reading capabilities at the price of a Kindle that’ll probably slow down) but it cannot replace computers. They don’t have the computing power, the screen size, the typing capability or the storage capacity to replace the desktop or laptop.
And those integrated keyboards are a joke. They’re cute and all but nobody is going to be doing 100 WPM on those things. Pads, i or otherwise, are readers, nifty gadgets, but nothing more. They’re no more likely to replace computers than remote controls are to replace TVs. They’re supplemental, not replacement.
What, that's a surprise? :)
My company works with MSFT and a multitude of other outfits that work with MSFT. Our folks are on the same committees and development efforts and whatnot... people talk. It's no secret that Microsoft is pissed and scared.
Posting from my iPad, checking mail and blogs an stuff before hitting the hay. The touchscreen works as advertised - meaning - phenomenally well.
It’s replaced my laptop for 85+% of what I used to use it for. Think of a magazine sized device sitting on your coffee table with instant on and 10 hours battery life. Only it not just a magazine, or movie player, or iPod, or email, or web browser... It’s all the above.
If you travel, even only occasionally; get the 3G version. No contract and at will activation/deactivation.
That may be so with the first generation. But computing power and storage capacity will grow exponentially with future generations. The screen size is almost perfect just the way it is (to preserve portability) but I'm sure larger screen sizes will be offered in the future for those who want them.
I do think that the keyboard-in-the-pants idea has potential. Again, it will develop over time. You will always have the ability to plug a standard keyboard into an iPad should you desire that.
I got the impression from your comments the past weeks that you -had- worked for Apple in the past, but for some time have been working for Microsoft. Sorry if I got a false impression.
Please straighten me out... for whom are you working at present (of those two), if I may ask?
From what I read in your initial post is that Apple is only selling to their base. I said that its inaccurate. All I have been saying. That are selling to far more than that.
From what I read in your initial post is that Apple is only selling to their base. I said that its inaccurate. All I have been saying. That are selling to far more than that.
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