




I. Google -- Doing Its Own Thing




Larry Page
Google CEO Larry Page [Image Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek]




II. Risky Efforts are Important to Software Giant




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Source: Fortune

Comments     Threshold


RE: Well said
By Guspaz on 12/11/2012 8:14:52 PM , Rating: 3
Apple's hardware is generally more advanced than most other devices in most categories. It's hard to dispute that, love them or hate them. It's pretty rare that it isn't an Apple smartphone topping the graphics benchmarks, for example. But that aspect of the hardware isn't really the most important thing; people aren't that aware of how fast the CPU or GPU is in a smartphone.

It's their software that they've having trouble with. That's what's falling behind, where they're being surpassed by the competition. And I'm saying this as somebody who has never owned anything but Apple smartphones. iOS is long overdue for some pretty substantial changes.

RE: Well said
By Jereb on 12/11/2012 11:38:16 PM , Rating: 4
Well actually it is easy to dispute that.
Apple's hardware for their laptops and desktop solutions are exactly the same as all others out there, and about twice the price.

They currently lead the pack in hardware in mobile solutions only.

RE: Well said
By maugrimtr on 12/12/2012 9:55:57 AM , Rating: 2
I find it ludicrious that people think Macs built using standard off-the-shelf components available to anyone on the market mysteriously produce faster products. They have no special advance deal with Intel, Nvidia, AMD or anyone else. You can indeed get an equally performing laptop for much less cash. It's almost hillarious watching other companies trying to replicate Apple's success by overcharging consumers and running afoul of basic economics.

Apple are also in a serious corner. Their share price has taken a beating in the face of obvious problems. Android is a serious competitor in mobile and it's entering the Tablet market alongside Windows (the iPhone 5 and mini iPad were clear indicators that Apple was under significant competitor pressure to "copy" ideas - pity nobody design patented the 6-8" tablet ;)). There also appears to be limited room for creating new novel markets. AppleTV? At a time when TVs are dirt cheap and their manufacturers are floundering?

The Apple stock price is looking more like a bubble of hopes and dreams every day.

RE: Well said
By Cannyone on 12/12/2012 1:54:25 PM , Rating: 3
When it comes to desktop computers Apple is typically well behind the power curve. They always choose mid-range components and then charge "high end" prices. Which Apple fans lap up like hungry kitties.

In the laptop market they have adopted displays that are higher resolution than is available for Windows laptops. But the rest of their design follows the same philosophy as the desktop brethren. So they actually aren't "superior" at all.

Now in the Mobile Market I understand that they are advanced and perform well. And this seems in part to be due to the software being tightly integrated (the technical term is really "qualified") to run with their hardware. But again Apple is using the very cheapest hardware they can get away with... Then they charge a premium price.

Now you may not agree with the above statements. And all I'm going to offer for proof is this article on Slashgear > So this is what I'm saying: They obviously don't sell more units. Androids beat them in the Mobile market and Windows PCs outsell them at least 8:1 in the desktop and laptop markets. So the only way they could make that profit is with the highest "margins" in the industry.

And that alone is the reason why, in the end, they will never dominate any market. Most people, a.k.a. the "uninformed masses, might like to own an Apple whatever but they can't afford it. Still I'm sure you Apple fans will continue to tell yourselves that their products are superior. And I understand that "our perception is our reality" so I won't give any further effort to convincing you otherwise. But "De-Nial" is not just a river in Egypt.

One last note: If you have Apple stock you should sell it while the price is still fairly high. Citi-Bank says its "dropped enough" but they probably have lots of that stock and they don't want you to sell yours before they do.

