

Apple patent application  (Source: Apple Insider)

Apple patent application  (Source: Apple Insider)










Sources: CNET, Apple Insider

Comments     Threshold


RE: Idea?
By Tony Swash on 12/24/2011 7:12:47 AM , Rating: 0
To expand upon your later point, though.. Apple in no way cares about product differentiation it seems by their actions.. Honestly, I don't own a smartphone -- I still talk to people with my mouth rather than my thumbs, and honestly don't see the need to be 'connected' when I can get away from my desk.. But from what I know of Android users -- the last thing they want to do is be confused for an iPhone user, that is.. at least if they based their purchase off of Android-fanboy sentiments rather than choosing a product that fits their needs and demands.

I find it hard to believe you really think that given a cursory examination of the relatively recent history (post Jobs return) of Apple product development. Leaving aside phones and tablets for a moment I think that Apple's attempt at product differentiation in the world of desktop PCs and laptops was both striking and successful as they painstakingly rebuilt the Apple brand and turned it into one of the top brands on the planet. An important part of that was product differentiation. As example consider that generally speaking it has been true for most of the last decade that if one were to assemble all the top selling PCs and laptops from all the major companies in a show room and cover up the identifying brand labels and logos and asked an average cross section of typical computer customers to identify which one's came from Dell, Apple etc, that most people would be able to identify the Apple products but few could identify all the new non-Apple brands successfully.

Of course product differentiation goes deeper than appearance as Apple is pretty much the only large producer of information technology devices that combines hardware and software into an integrated whole. Which is why the have been so successful in the post PC device market and why others are either copying that approach (Googlerola, Amazon's forked Android Fire OS) or will (Micronokia).

With tablets and phones there are much greater physical limitations on the cues that a single small device can give to indicate it's identity which is why it is the arena where Apple's competitors have been most active and successful at making look alike devices and where Apple is most keen to defend it's new IP. In the post PC market Apple has quickly established the two most recognisable brands. If one asked a cross section of the public to name a specific smart phone or a specific tablet then iPhone and iPad would easily be the most named, by a large amount.

Apple's business plan is simple. Focus on designing and building only a few products. Make those product as good as can be, the best of class if possible. Make them function and look and feel distinctively Apple like. Make the customer experience of the product and the company (hence the retail stores) as good as possible. Run the tightest and best managed supply chain in the business. Watch the cash pile up. Sounds simple but no other company does that.

