The real truth behind all these apple lawsuits can be surmised in just one word: Desperation. Apple is genuinely scared that it will not be able to hold on to it's market share for too long. In fact apple is seeing the greatest evolution in computing slipping away once more. Reasons?
a. It is impossible to hold onto a significant global market share with just one phone or pad, no matter how great they are, updated , maybe, once a year when there are other 40 at least manufacturers producing at least half a dozen phones and a couple pads each, updating them at least twice a year. It is in human nature to be varied and seek variety. It is thanks to this human tendency we have progressed from caves to space exploration. Yes one can claim that apple did it to an extend with the iPod for quite sometime, why not with the iPhone or iPad? Well an mp3 player is just that: An mp3 player. But a pad or a phone is something different all together. They are computing and communication platforms. And here's the next bit:
b. Dealing with communication and computing platforms you need other things to keep your market captive to your products. You need an ecosystem that will be sustainable. Apples ecosystem? The hardware, app store and soon iCloud. All nice. But not enough. Apple does not have any social networking platform. They do not have a far reaching email communication platform. Their mobileme email platform is as good and dead. The app store is no longer the only place you can get good quality apps. Furthermore apples insistence on a 30% cut for in app purchases and subscriptions is pushing publishers and content providers towards the browser based experience. Please note that I am not querying whether apple is right or wrong on this. Am just stating the facts.
c.The hardware:. Apple does offer great hardware. Only a fool would put that to question. Yet again only a fool would fail to realize that Samsungs galaxy phone and especially the galaxy tab have got some impressive specs. Some of them better than both the iPhone and iPad. And if you dispute that please take a look at direct comparisons. Specs by themselves though mean absolutely nothing for the greatest majority of consumers. Yes every single one of them will drool over an iPhone but the 80% will go buy any other phone for a myriad of different reasons.
Now take a moment and have a glance across the fence. What do you see?
a. The hardware quality divide is almost breached and keep in mind that this means nothing to the majority of consumers.
b. The Goliath called Google is marching with the following:
1. The biggest and most reliable search engine.
2. A massive email based platform.
3. The fastest and most secure browser, all things being equal
4. A newly branded networking site which is not going to kill Facebook. It is different. It functions in a different realm and it will be as successful as Gmail.
4. An already established and highly successful mapping service
5. A highly successful mobile os
Now pause for a moment and consider how many of these services you are already using. Now if you as an apple die hard supporter can be so engrossed in the Google universe whats to stop the other 80% of the global population to adopt not just these services but also the hardware they function on?
Essentially apple is not just fighting to retain market share. It is fighting for its survival as a closed ecosystem.
Disclosure: I have, I am and will carry one being an apple hardware and software user.
