Wow. Really, someone should tell him that his MS crap gets more bugs every version. Let's see...he says how lucky apple would to be to get 3% from entering late...now if we want something too late into the market, let's talk about the MS zune. 
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Ballmer on iPhone Marketshare
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Now I feel better!
This guy is a blowhard who is consistently wrong. He and his buddy Gates got lucky once (althought they were really lucky!), practiced anticompetitive marketing and business practices when they got rich and have stagnated since. Seems like they should spend more time on product and less on punditry.
This guy is a blowhard who is consistently wrong. He and his buddy Gates got lucky once (althought they were really lucky!), practiced anticompetitive marketing and business practices when they got rich and have stagnated since. Seems like they should spend more time on product and less on punditry.
I'll bet he hates that all his interviews seem to come back around to Apple and the iPhone. I love to see him struggling to paint Apple as a failure and nonthreat, when they obviously pay very close attention to what happens with Macs. He seems so, um, nonrelevant, and disconnected.
Wow. Really, someone should tell him that his MS crap gets more bugs every version. Let's see...he says how lucky apple would to be to get 3% from entering late...now if we want something too late into the market, let's talk about the MS zune.
Or the 360...it swings both ways you know
It won't be a single-carrier, US-only, non-3G, expensive phone for long. AT&T is locked in as the carrier for a good while, but other countries will get the phone over the next year, better bandwidth is coming, and prices will fall.
Exhibit A: The iPod.
My thoughts exactly. Steve Jobs and Apple Inc. are only aiming for 1% the market for the first year.
Or the 360...it swings both ways you know
-psychofreak
Not to argue, but the door only swings both ways when both ways are comparing positive profits, which is not the case with the 360.
(Sorry, that's my Six-Sigma poking through)
Actually, rumors have it that Cingular/AT&T has exclusive US rights for 4 or maybe even 5 years...
I believe this is a problem. I assumed Microsoft was the dominant operating system for smartphones till I saw that statistic on Roughly Drafted (http://roughlydrafted.com is an incredible site, he's had on the money opinions for years, see his prediction for the current form of the iMac).
Saying something is true goes a long way to convincing people it's true. Look at the current administration, they do it all the time.
The way it stands now, Balmer is dead-on. A Mac-only phone, with crippled application-development, crippled hardware-capabilities, and a wallet-crippling price will not grab a big market-share. That said, it would really surprise me if Apple didn't have a big "one more thing" up it's sleeve, different than everyone thinks. My guess is as good as yours.
Incidentally, I disagree with those that are saying that if the iPhone 1 doesn't become a big hit, iPhone 2 or 3 will ("just like the iPod"). The mobile market is extremely competitive, much more so than the music-player market was back then. If Apple makes a half-assed phone, chances are another hardware-maker will make a rocking clone, implementing exactly those features consumers want. Look at how many iClones came out based on just a keynote? Apple needs to make a big splash now, it may not get a second chance. The question is what will this splash consist of?
Incidentally, I disagree with those that are saying that if the iPhone 1 doesn't become a big hit, iPhone 2 or 3 will ("just like the iPod"). The mobile market is extremely competitive, much more so than the music-player market was back then. If Apple makes a half-assed phone, chances are another hardware-maker will make a rocking clone, implementing exactly those features consumers want. Look at how many iClones came out based on just a keynote? Apple needs to make a big splash now, it may not get a second chance. The question is what will this splash consist of?
How come MacRumors hasn't caught wind and reported on this?
ARN?! ADMINS?! THIS IS IMPORTANT NEWS!
-Clive
Sorry but this is page 17 material. Why do we care what the man has to say. He is a competitor of Apple and has no clue of Apple plans, even if he did, what you expect him to say????
Not worth discussing.
Not worth discussing.
Maybe so but it doesn't have to limit the device. I'm from Belgium and we don't have subsidized phones here, therefore at the keynote i was in the assumption that there was a FREE 2 year contract included with the iPhone. No free data-plan but free to use the network and pay per play.
If this is the case it opens up the market in a big way and won't make the 5 years Cingular deal to limiting, Apple isn't dumb. The iPod is only 6 years old but look how far it got in such a short timeframe, limiting the iPhone for 5 years with expensive data-plans just isn't a smart move. It looks like the iPhone will dramatically change the US market.
That said, it would really surprise me if Apple didn't have a big "one more thing" up it's sleeve, different than everyone thinks. My guess is as good as yours.
I disagree with your assertion we will see iLife for PC. I think we will see a slight expansion of features on iTunes, which is already a PC app and already draws users to the Mac experience by bringing the "Microsoft Office of the 21st century", the killer ap known as iTunes, to the masses, for free and with a user experience the same on both the Mac and PC.
It is the trojan horse.
Apple TV does this by hooking a crippled Mac to the TV and is agnostic which CPU is hosting iTunes, Mac or PC. Many homes are multi-CPU now so it seems many of the new ones are Mac.
iTunes is the software that talks to iPod, iPhone (ATN) and iTV
)).Rocketman
Not so sure prices will fall that far. The iPhone will be very much a premium product with very high desirability and paying $500-$600 seems about right. OK, maybe this is a European speaking here, but the iPhone seems to offer a lot more than just a phone; it'll be a decent replacement for an iPod, plus PDA, etc.
I paid around £250=$500 for my Ericsson P900 plus contract a couple or three years back. I see the iPhone as the very natural replacement for this (lets face it, there's sod all other phones on the market to replace it at the moment).
Maybe they'll be the iPhone Nano in the future which will be cheaper?
I can't see Apple having any problems in selling every phone they produce for the first year; and if it's as good as they say, they'll sell a lot more after that. Also Apple kit tends to be desirable because it's expensive; like designer clothes.
OH, man. I gotta give a speech today.. nothing to say.... nothing to say... what do I do? (Panic) Wait, I know! I'll jump around and scream and hope no one notices that I have nothing to say!
FUD Alert
Ballmer: Now we'll get a chance to go through this again in phones and music players. There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share.
Translation: We are losing the war in phones and music players. There's no chance that the Zune is going to get any significant market share, and the iPhone may very well overtake us in the smartphone market. I'll just pull a bunch of percentages out of my ass to impress the ignorant.
I can't believe I wasted five years of my life working for Microsoft. It truly is clueless company from the top down.
Ballmer: Now we'll get a chance to go through this again in phones and music players. There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share.
Translation: We are losing the war in phones and music players. There's no chance that the Zune is going to get any significant market share, and the iPhone may very well overtake us in the smartphone market. I'll just pull a bunch of percentages out of my ass to impress the ignorant.
I can't believe I wasted five years of my life working for Microsoft. It truly is clueless company from the top down.
I would not put Gates and Jobs into the same sentence as far as visionary is concerned. Gates was once upon a time somewhat visionary (created platform independent os) - really more clever about marketing than visionary in the kind of way that apple and Jobs are.
Best observation of the day
So, Steve's wetdream is 60+% and Microsoft has 5-%.
Long climb uphill.
I do love Steve's spin. He implies that MS already has 60+%.
Brilliant.
So, Steve's wetdream is 60+% and Microsoft has 5-%.
Long climb uphill.
I do love Steve's spin. He implies that MS already has 60+%.
Brilliant.
"... Apple is a hardware company. They're one-trick ponies, because there is a lot of groupthink in all companies."
Apple is a hardware company. Either M$, after all these years, still just doesn't get it or this is what they tell themselves in order to sleep at night after "borrowing" all of OS X's design ideas for Vista.
These guys still don't get it. Apple makes the whole widget. Elegant seamless integration of hardware and software.
Then he tells a funny story about Gates finding new features in Excel. And he thinks this is good news! You've never have a story like that about Apple software because the enginneers and designers work so hard to GET IT RIGHT the first time. They're not perfect but they are so far beyond what MS does...
Makes me sick.
</fanboy rant>
Apple is a hardware company. Either M$, after all these years, still just doesn't get it or this is what they tell themselves in order to sleep at night after "borrowing" all of OS X's design ideas for Vista.
These guys still don't get it. Apple makes the whole widget. Elegant seamless integration of hardware and software.
Then he tells a funny story about Gates finding new features in Excel. And he thinks this is good news! You've never have a story like that about Apple software because the enginneers and designers work so hard to GET IT RIGHT the first time. They're not perfect but they are so far beyond what MS does...
Makes me sick.
</fanboy rant>
