Five Questions For Steve Jobs
I want to thank Lenny Greenberg, CEO of the Greenberg Technology Group, for suggestions that I have used to formulate the following questions I'd like to ask Steve Jobs in response to his MacWorld keynote in which he announced iPhone, re-announced Apple TV and changed the company's name from Apple Computer to Apple Inc.:
Is Apple a consumer entertainment company or a consumer electronics company? Sure, the iTunes store sells content, but Apple produces none of it. No music, no video, no games. Maybe you forgot you sold Pixar to Disney. Apple seems to now be a gadget shop emphasizing coolness and design.
Where is the game component? Apple TV, described by one wag as "an expensive box that lets you play TV shows on a TV," seems weak. Game consoles rule the living room. Xbox seems to be heading towards adding the same functionality as Apple TV. I had earlier suggested that Apple acquire Nintendo to fill this hole. Ah, well, once again you did not listen to me.
Who will produce the iPhone "for the rest of us?" As Lenny says, "The big mistake is the Cingular [pun intended] relationship with one cell phone provider." There is a huge opportunity for the traditional cell phone makers to fill this void for Verizon and Sprint/Nextel users. And how about a Zune phone that serves them?
Where are the games for iPhone? This seems like a big hole in the iPhone announcement. A game would have been great iCandy (sorry, could not resist) for your keynote. Will Apple provide the support game makers need to develop titles for the iPhone? Your history supporting developers is not especially good.
Why did you let the iPhone name problem occur? I can forgive backdating stock options, but this distracting controversy is inexcusable. It is not like it sneaked up on you. Even Cisco figured you must have agreed to their terms when you announced iPhone and just forgot to tell them so. But, no, your minions are now calling Cisco's ten-year-old trademark "silly." Yup, those Cisco goobers think that owning the name iPhone for phones just might apply to cell phones. Steve, you should have either reached agreement with Cisco or used your vaunted creativity to come up with another name. Silly is as silly does.
Copyright © 2007 Philip Bookman
Technorati: Business Strategy, Apple.
Is Apple a consumer entertainment company or a consumer electronics company? Sure, the iTunes store sells content, but Apple produces none of it. No music, no video, no games. Maybe you forgot you sold Pixar to Disney. Apple seems to now be a gadget shop emphasizing coolness and design.
Where is the game component? Apple TV, described by one wag as "an expensive box that lets you play TV shows on a TV," seems weak. Game consoles rule the living room. Xbox seems to be heading towards adding the same functionality as Apple TV. I had earlier suggested that Apple acquire Nintendo to fill this hole. Ah, well, once again you did not listen to me.
Who will produce the iPhone "for the rest of us?" As Lenny says, "The big mistake is the Cingular [pun intended] relationship with one cell phone provider." There is a huge opportunity for the traditional cell phone makers to fill this void for Verizon and Sprint/Nextel users. And how about a Zune phone that serves them?
Where are the games for iPhone? This seems like a big hole in the iPhone announcement. A game would have been great iCandy (sorry, could not resist) for your keynote. Will Apple provide the support game makers need to develop titles for the iPhone? Your history supporting developers is not especially good.
Why did you let the iPhone name problem occur? I can forgive backdating stock options, but this distracting controversy is inexcusable. It is not like it sneaked up on you. Even Cisco figured you must have agreed to their terms when you announced iPhone and just forgot to tell them so. But, no, your minions are now calling Cisco's ten-year-old trademark "silly." Yup, those Cisco goobers think that owning the name iPhone for phones just might apply to cell phones. Steve, you should have either reached agreement with Cisco or used your vaunted creativity to come up with another name. Silly is as silly does.
Copyright © 2007 Philip Bookman
Technorati: Business Strategy, Apple.
Labels: Apple, Business Strategy
posted by Phil Bookman at 9:29 AM
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