Steve Jobs is an effective manager, but as far as the smartest CEO, my money still is on (in a very literal sense) Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway. For that matter, I don't hold any Apple stock, but I have a reasonable chunk of my portfolio in Southwest Airlines. While in theory Apple sounds like a better investment than Southwest, I feel that it's easier to trust Gary Kelly with my money than Steve Jobs. From a consumer perspective, I love 90% of everything Apple (I do use Lightroom, and recently a Motorola Droid due to the lackluster AT&T performance in my new neighborhood); from an investor perspective, I prefer to put my money where there are less secrets. I understand and appreciate the value of trade secrets, but it's important for stockholders to be able to know exactly what they are buying...the direction in which the company is headed, within *reasonable* levels of confidentiality and materiality.
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Fortune Names Steve Jobs 'Smartest CEO', Jony Ive 'Smartest Designer' in Tech
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Comparing the two stocks for the last 5 years suggests this strategy has been your loss.
Not true. People care about size, weight, and battery life, which is why the ipad is doing so well.
And computers are becoming the main window to our pictures and (home) movies, so screen quality matters, and hasn't topped out yet. For some hobbyists dealing with raw files, speed and capacity are important too.
It's clear that PCs aren't good enough yet: the specs keep getting better, and there is a market for them.
But the audio format specs *are* good enough. The specs that consumers actually use have not improved since the CD was introduced more than 25 years ago; in fact with mp3's they have gotten worse. There is DVD audio, but it has an insignificant market. People are not interested in paying for imperceptible improvements.
Audio specs have topped out, and Jobs is betting that video specs have too. And his betting average has been pretty good lately.
He's also betting that PC specs have a long way to go, and since they're hardware, there will always be high and low end models, even when the technology does saturate. Look at cars.
Joke
Smartest CEO?? I think not. Apple's quality and public perception has been tanking lately and the fundamentally flawed iphone4 really emphasizes that. And I still cant get over the insane loyalty to AT&T. Why? AT&T is ruining the greatest phone there is. AT&T network service blows and so does their customer service.
Smartest CEO?? I think not. Apple's quality and public perception has been tanking lately and the fundamentally flawed iphone4 really emphasizes that. And I still cant get over the insane loyalty to AT&T. Why? AT&T is ruining the greatest phone there is. AT&T network service blows and so does their customer service.
So we go from "the fundamentally flawed iPhone 4" to "the greatest phone there is." ??
Oh, the irony.
Not until I actually experience any.
Consumers, the market, the entire tech world, disagrees.
Steve and Apple completely changed the mobile landscape, not even counting what Apple has done over the past decade. Apple has dictated the direction of the industry for years now, and yet MS has outnumbered them vastly in computer and OS sales. And they still do . . . except those "core" MS products have been rendered into tired, old paradigms; relics from yesteryear. Thanks to Apple.
Sheer genius.
Apple went from this:
To this:
Any questions?
Wow, so now the masses are hobbyist dealing with raw files and require LaCie or NEC screens to organize the photos of their newborn ?
You are out of wack with the masses. They don't care about size, battery life, or whatever, because they don't carry around their computer. It sits in a dark corner somewhere, plugged in all the time. It gets used sparingly for web and facebook. And yes pictures. But then again, my 10 year old PC can still display jpgs flawlessly on any screen since they all have VGA in ports.
It's a good thing Steve realises this, says it outright, and goes on to make his niche computers.
In 2003 retail sales of laptops exceeded desktops in the US. In 2008 total sales of laptops exceeded desktops worldwide. And most desktops are bought by industry. People carry their computers around, and size and battery life matter. I don't know where you've been.
But if 10 year-old pcs are good enough for you, stick with them.
They're obviously not good enough for Apple, or Apple's customers.
Jobs realizes PCs, esp. non-Apple PCs, are not even close to good enough, and proceeds to make better and better macs.
And he realizes that downloaded movies are good enough (or very soon will be), and says *that* outright, and so eschews the blue ray.
That's the kind of vision that's made Apple bigger than Microsoft, and the absence of which makes you happy with a 10-year old Dell.
Smug post from you, but you forgot to mention that they were so smart that half the world is buying the iPhone 4 STILL. So smart that hundreds stand in line for their products. Show me another cell phone company that gets that much adulation.
correction. half the USofA. not half the world.
you will be shocked to know that there are good number of people who have more important or better things to do than being obsessed with a phone and lining up for it overnight.
yes, i know. it's hard to believe.
Ah, you're confusing laptop with carrying around a computer. You do realise a lot of people buy a laptop, chain it to their desk and leave it plugged in all the time right ?
Very few owners carry their computers around.
I find it funny those who criticise Apple ignore where Apple was 14 years ago - at deaths door. What Steve and John show is if you knuckle down, remain focused and drive forward you can two a broken two bit crap box into one of the most successful IT companies right now. Too bad we have all these Johnny Come Lately's who jumped on the Apple bandwagon at the last minute thinking they're 'cool' and 'hip' (or those idiots who think they're Apple users and all they own a iPhone/iPod)
Smart to sell so much junk
Of course he's smart. Who would sell millions of junk gadgets that can't make a phone call and still call it a phone. Only the smartest CEO on the planet. Great job Jobs!!!
Of course he's smart. Who would sell millions of junk gadgets that can't make a phone call and still call it a phone. Only the smartest CEO on the planet. Great job Jobs!!!
