Can Apple do no wrong? (today's WSJ article)

[Hogan773]

So I am reading the WSJ article this morning. To paraphrase, it says that all the other phone manufacturers are rushing to get out announcements ahead of next weeks' IP5 launch. Fair enough.

Then is says that Apple's consistent (implied as fast) product updates....every year......make it very hard for the other manufacturers to "KEEP UP" with them........

This is where I spit out my coffee into the air in a sitcom-like style.

REALLY? Apple is always at the BLEEDING EDGE of TECHNOLOGY such that the others are just trying to keep up?

I felt like asking the author if that is why Apple currently has the smallest screen, no LTE, no NFC, etc. Maybe Apple will pull a rabbit out of their you know what but otherwise it seems to me that APPLE is the one who is "catching up" to others in terms of hardware at the current time.

I realize I am partial to Android and even Samsung, but it always appears to me that in the press, Apple is just constantly put on a pedestal as a do-no-wrong genius company. It's just sort of ridiculous.

 

[treb1797]

When it's all said & done articles are only 1 persons view & in this case this iPhone user happens to have a bigger stage to stand on then most.

 

[Bnice]

With over 1 million Android activate daily, who cares.

 

[lunatic59]

It's the Apple marketing machine at work. You are going to see more of this hyperbole* as the iPhone5 launch date approaches. They are currently burying the press in announcements, releases and other various "news" in the hopes that someone picks it up. One thing is for sure, Apple is very good at selling their stuff.



*Hyperbole - n. (high-'per-bo-lee): Organic compound found in pastures where male cows live.

 

[Stuntman]

It's the Apple brand name. People want an iPhone even if they don't know what exactly it can do. They will watch or read about the announcement and no matter what Apple announces or doesn't announce, people will think it's awesome because they don't know what else is there. I know a number of people who wanted an iPhone even though they don't know what it can do. They pretty much use it as a dumb phone.

 

[AntimonyER]

Anyone see the Dilbert comic Droid Life posted today... My thoughts exactly!

 

[Hogan773]

Yeah but I don't see many (any really) articles that question Apple or say the Emperor has no clothes. It's like "ohhh, iPhone sales are down but that is only because everyone is waiting for the next iPhone" (which might be true). Not that people are getting siphoned away to newer, more interesting hardware options and converting away from iOS.

And on the whole patent litigation thing, I haven't seen anyone questioning whether a company should really be able to patent things like "rounded off square icons".....or whether a company with such a market position should be able to spend its warchest to use the patent system to create BS roadblocks for others......it's all just Ohhh poor Apple (the most valuable company in the world) has been aped by those dastardly Koreans.

 

[9to5cynic]

*Hyperbole - n. (high-'per-bo-lee): Organic compound found in pastures where male cows live.

:rofl:

OP - don't worry. That author is likely either uninformed or a bit of an apple fanatic. I don't think many would consider the iphone 'bleeding edge'.

it's all just Ohhh poor Apple (the most valuable company in the world) has been aped by those dastardly Koreans.

lmao! :rofl: Dastardly is such a good word too....

 

[EarlyMon]

Anyone see the Dilbert comic Droid Life posted today... My thoughts exactly!

No, I missed it.

 

[Bob Maxey]

I felt like asking the author if that is why Apple currently has the smallest screen, no LTE, no NFC, etc. Maybe Apple will pull a rabbit out of their you know what but otherwise it seems to me that APPLE is the one who is "catching up" to others in terms of hardware at the current time.

Not sure how to respond. Apple seems to be doing something right. As for Apple's shortcomings, I prefer to wait until we see what Apple will release.

Perhaps people do want larger screens. Ii do not realty know. Perhaps Apple is planning to give us more of the same. Corporations must adapt to the will of the public or suffer. Apple seems to suffer very little but that can change.

The screen size will likely be the same as current models.

As for NFC, not sure that is really needed. Perhaps there is a move towards this sort of application. I know there is a big push.

sh. Our new downtown parking meters can use NFC, iOS/Android apps, voice, text messages to pay for parking.

Just today, I say a bunch of those little Smart cars driving around town. They will set you up with whatever is required to use NFC.

I say lets wait and see what actually arrives from Apple. My guess is it will be largely more of the same. That said, Apple has a way of turning things upside down with some new thing.

 

[Bob Maxey]

With over 1 million Android activate daily, who cares.

What is the source? Unique users and all new devices? Just phones or does that include other Android stuff.

Seems like the figures are a bit too high. I hope you are not saying there are one million new activations because I find that hard to swallow. Please correct me, I'll listen.

 

[EarlyMon]

Everyone is so busy selling sales information, it's hard to trust anything at this point.

Both camps have said that worldwide market growth is key to their strategies.

Thanks to warped statistics, both sides could be growing monetarily while pundits convince the masses someone is losing.

Like you say - who knows what at this point??

 

[Bob Maxey]

Everyone is so busy selling sales information, it's hard to trust anything at this point.

Both camps have said that worldwide market growth is key to their strategies.

Thanks to warped statistics, both sides could be growing monetarily while pundits convince the masses someone is losing.

Like you say - who knows what at this point??

From politics to technology, we are divided. Or so many here would like us to believe. Those here largely like Android and those on an Apple forum like Apple. Me, well, I like them both. I know both products are great and useable and workable and they do what they were designed to do.

About all I know is most buyers like the iPhone and they do not care about sales figures or jailbreaking or rooting. They want a solidly built phone that will last. Apple delivers that in spades. People here need to understand that what bothers them means nothing to Joe Average.

The problem is too many people saying things that are either not true or skewed. And many are saying the new iPhone will sell well or not sell because it is outdated. I say we must wait and see how many are sold and the feature set before we proclaim it is a hit or it is better or worse than Android's best.

All I know is the new iPhone will sell well and quite frankly, I am betting Android manufacturers are worried. Again, Apple has a way of changing the game. Also remember that Apple might announce something else besides the new iPad and iPhone. Or not. I always look forward to their announcements.

Android sales figures are as hard to determine as are Apple's and when you find some "insider" who says he or she knows, you cannot trust them for the most part. Chances are they are clueless.

I still say the iPhone is the number one best seller because there is only a few iPhone models but tens of dozens of different Android models from a dozen manufacturers. Not one of those manufacturers outsells the iPhone on their own; they are part of a larger group of makers selling phones that are collectively called Android phones.

When we talk about Android sales compared to Apple's sales, perhaps there are more Androids sold compared to Apple when you consider the entirety of the market.

If Android were to "own" 75% of the market, as a group they could claim they outsell Apple. Singly, no way.

I think to get a handle on things, one must dig and learn to parse the data.

 

[Bob Maxey]

It's like "ohhh, iPhone sales are down but that is only because everyone is waiting for the next iPhone" (which might be true). Not that people are getting siphoned away to newer, more interesting hardware options and converting away from iOS.

I might suggest it is true or at least, serves to explain why sales--of any product--is down. Why spend the money for a product that will be replaced by a potentially better product? I would wait, too.

And it makes a difference as far as numbers go. It does not mean sales are down because people are jumping ship; as many might suggest. Especially those that hate research and simply want to spread the word that the iPhone is starting to fail in the market.

I have seen too much of that crud already. "Product X sales are down and Product Z is up, so product Z is better and people are discovering this. What is haeeninig is product X is being upgraded and when it drops, it will sell perhaps better than product Z.

Apple will likely sell lots of iPhones until the day the new one is announced. Remember, you still might need to wait for the new one.

It is a perfectly good reason to explain a down iPhone market. If the market is indeed down.

But who knows, anyway.

what happens when Apple announces they will release a 125.00 iPad, a 99.00 iPhone and a 79.95 Android phone?

I would LOVE to see them release an Android phone. Serve you all right and it would drive this forum C R A Z Y! It will unite us all . . . Apple and Android fanboys and fanish girls coming together to hate Apple. At last, Apple would control 95% of the market and Android manufacturers could finally learn how phones are done.

It would be Insanely Great!

 

[Bob Maxey]

Y

And on the whole patent litigation thing, I haven't seen anyone questioning whether a company should really be able to patent things like "rounded off square icons".....or whether a company with such a market position should be able to spend its warchest to use the patent system to create BS roadblocks for others......it's all just Ohhh poor Apple (the most valuable company in the world) has been aped by those dastardly Koreans.

Many of us have commented about the system. Most of us agree changes must be made. That said, Apple (and all other patent holders) must protect their investment and their patents.

Apple is the usual subject of these patent system comments, but they are not the only company patenting things others might find silly. Sometimes it is because they spend millions in development costs and they want to own their creations.

The way to curb the "abuses" is to change the system. I do not have a problem with Apple protecting the IP they own. I do question some of their practices, but I ain't no patent attorney.

And remember, it is not just one kind of patent. And remember, there are other protections one might say needs to be changed. Trademarks, copyrights, service marks and others. Then add the patent systems worldwide and the connections between our laws and foreign laws, and you will see why patent lawyers earn big dollars and until you read the patents you never what Apple's patents reference other patents that may or mat not be valid.

If you think patent law is complex, try figuring out maritime laws. But that's another thread I suppose.