I hope there will be a full line of computers for all the different market segments with all the options that other computer makers offer and that they will be updated on a timely and regular basis.
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Tim Cook: 'Ideas' for a Netbook, iPhone Price Changes, iMacs?
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My thoughts exactly. The thing that upsets me most in all of these interviews on products and announcements is the lack of communication on the mini. I'd like to know if they are going to cut it out already so that I can move on. I would hate it if we (those wanting a new mini) all waited in anticipation for a updated mini just to find that they aren't going to make one.
I think you're hoping for too much.
Apple clearly isn't going to compete in all market segments. They like to choose those that particularly offer high-margin returns. Hence Steve Jobs' famous comment that "We dont know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk" (and yet also saying that they would wait and see where the market goes).
Tim Cook talks too much all ready !!!
I hope Steve is up to screaming and such. I'd hate to think he'd be too ill for that.
Keep in mind that any of Cook's comments could be misdirection for the competition's ear to send them off on a tangent. I really believe that Apple has a corporate plan that while is under constant revision is about an order of magnitude more complex than nearly anyone surmises.
I base that on how Apple has moved big chunks into place over months of time, and the competition didn't noticed until it was suddenly clear what had been done and how it magnified the impact.
The best latest example is how Microsoft is only now trying to put an app store into place because they didn't see it as the power behind iPod, iTouch, and iPhone sales.
Sometime soon, the some of the other acquisitions and changes will begin to bear fruit way beyond what was expected and in ways unexpected.
Apple is unusually swift and agile in making market adjustments for a company of its size. The usual fate of large companies is to have a unwieldly decision process that grinds good ideas down into marginal ones that become too little and too slowly implemented to have impact. Microsoft and Sony are a couple battleships that need an ocean to turn in.
But Apple simply doesn't want to compete at the low, stripped-down end of the mobile market. They've said they don't just want market share, they want to make the best phone. They want their brand to continue to represent a premium.
A futile hope if there ever was one. Apple's been there and done that and it was a disaster. A company has to cripple some computers to fill a lower performance slot, and lose the power of production scale pricing in the process.
Your "hope" also doesn't work in a production model that relies on off shore manufacturing where a company over-forecasts on some models and under forecasts on others.
Dell, who made their fortune offering "made to order" computers found themselves in trouble when the off-shore no-names began to batter them with much lower costs and fewer models.
The computer industry has undergone a far longer evolution process than most people expected. This has meant that those who thought they could make a sound decisions based on the usual good previous practices have been left wondering "what just happened?"
And is that plan so complex that it prevents them from releasing computer products?
When you look at Apple's desktop lineup - mini, iMacs, Mac Pro, Cinema displays - I just can't remember a time when there was such a paucity of product updates.
The current phone actually costs less than the comparable Blackberry and could drop in cost due to maintaining the current production level.
In a "down economy" manufacturers need to keep a high level of production going to maintain a stable unit cost. This applies to the suppliers to the Apple assemblers. So there is a lot of pressure to keep the engine running at full speed and that pressure most often results in lower component costs.
If Apple were to offer more models of iPhones, they are going to be looking at many factors like those above that we cannot see. In addition, they are looking at current customer retention at end of contract time, possible cannibalization of their core market, and maintaining an app standardization that allows one app to work over any iPhone model. Throwing a few more phone models out there has many many ramifications; most of which are not good.
Nonsense. It's Cook's responsibility to act as CEO in all aspects and to prepare for the possibility that he might have to keep that role for longer than originally planned. That's just being prudent, and it does not indicate that Jobs doesn't intend to return.
uhhh...1984.
I'm just being a smart ass there. You are mostly right, and I have no answer for that. Let's hope that when Apple does do something, the reasoning for the slow updating becomes more clear. (Apple's decisions are often more evident in hindsight)
I remember in the early days of the IBM PC, before they had any competition, the business market was crying for the ability to network the boxes and the rumors seemed to point to an Ethernet solution coming. The need was NOW and IBM had a press conference where everyone was sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for networking.
Instead of announcing networking as expected, IBM announced only the possible future specs for networking. It signaled that IBM was moving way too slow for the market they created. About that same time Intel released a second-generation CPU chip that could kick the PC into high gear (by mid-80s standards) and everyone was looking for IBM to announce implementing the new chip and they passed.
Gateway jumped into the gap and also made a suitcase portable computer and ran away with IBM's PC market. IBM never again led the market in sales.
So, there's a pressure for any manufacturer to meet the market's demands to some extent. In that way, timing is highly important. Apple seems to be focusing their energies on their markets that pay back in spades, not the one's that offer lower growth and income going forward.
This would imply that Apple has limited resources for developing new products, which is not an accurate picture. Apple has some other reasons and, like you, I hope they are good ones.
Word!
Uni's started and I have essays to do! I have a monitor, keyboard, mouse and (shortly) speakers all waiting on my desk but a small gap where a computer should be because I keep telling myself 'there'll be a new Mini soon', and have my old one (well, other than a processor swap to C2D, still current one actually) doing HTPC duties...
I will restate what I already have earlier in this thread:
If you think Cook has somehow decided to launch new products that WEREN'T already in the works for at least a year or two (Apple's average product pipeline), where exactly did you loose your common sense?
MOST tech companies have product pipelines of at least a year or two or even three. Cook is merely a puppet taking over the day to day at apple until Steves return but any and all actual decisions have been made months in advance or are still being made by Steve as stated in his letter.
If you think Cook has somehow decided to launch new products that WEREN'T already in the works for at least a year or two (Apple's average product pipeline), where exactly did you loose your common sense?
MOST tech companies have product pipelines of at least a year or two or even three. Cook is merely a puppet taking over the day to day at apple until Steves return but any and all actual decisions have been made months in advance or are still being made by Steve as stated in his letter.
Tim Cook's job is to study business models and focus on Sales.
Steve's most certainly looking into new products/designs to address current and future markets. That's how he designs.
I think you're hoping for too much.
Apple clearly isn't going to compete in all market segments. They like to choose those that particularly offer high-margin returns. Hence Steve Jobs' famous comment that "We dont know how to build a sub-$500 computer that is not a piece of junk" (and yet also saying that they would wait and see where the market goes).
Probably.
I sell Macs and PCs. The gaps in Apple's computer lineup are unbelievable and many of the computers and peripherals are old, filled with two generation old components and bear 2007 prices.
The netbooks are not not "pieces of junk". They are the fastest growing segment of computers and give consumers exactly what they need. Apple will be last to the party soon and will miss a huge opportunity to increase their customer base. They could invent the mini and abandon it to oblivion.
I'm sorry, Apple needs to commit to a full lineup of up to date computers and peripherals or spin off the computer biz to somebody who is willing offer a complete line of products.
Probably.
I sell Macs and PCs. The gaps in Apple's computer lineup are unbelievable and many of the computers and peripherals are old, filled with two generation old components and bear 2007 prices.
The netbooks are not not "pieces of junk". They are the fastest growing segment of computers and give consumers exactly what they need. Apple will be last to the party soon and will miss a huge opportunity to increase their customer base. They could invent the mini and abandon it to oblivion.
I'm sorry, Apple needs to commit to a full lineup of up to date computers and peripherals or spin off the computer biz to somebody who is willing offer a complete line of products.
Apple has the respect and power to dictate its own markets. No one's going to go abandoning them due to outdated product lines. Every day I see a post about someone patiently waiting for a mac mini update. They pioneered and continue to define the all-in-one desktop.
They will only do a netbook if the profit margin is there, it can sell, and it makes sense in relation to their other offerings. We can't, nor we should, expect them to go with sub-standard components or make uncharacteristic design concessions simply to have a product offering for a particular market.
netbooks aren't new.
Apple doesn't follow. They either innovate, or stagnate.
Two things that Apple needs to do.
CATCH UP WITH THE BASE OF THE DESKTOP MARKET, and that isn't iMac. iMac is only the base of APPLE's desktop market. The rest of the world still has a use for a headless consumer desktop.
A Mac Mini, xMac, whatever you want to call it. Desktop hardware, and a small base of configurability and upgradeability. Versatility to work as a small server, small workstation, or small HTPC more capable than an AppleTV.
The Second thing, and something that is a new turn on the "netBook."
Call it the iPad, AirPad, netPod, or whatever. A real-world-actual do-almost-anything tablet like the Padd on Star Trek, or something. But it can also connect to peripherals, even on a desk.
MacBook-like hardware, macBook Air like dimensions, or slightly smaller diagonally. No hinges, open-faced slate tablet with multi-touch, and stylus capability. No moving parts (solid state everything), no keys save a wake/home button like iPhone/iPT. No optical drive, but rather OD sharing. Full OS functions, including running BootCamp or virtualization, as a full computer, not a PDA, even if iPhone/iPT are decent PDAs.
Full WiFi/BT/3G wireless, infrared remote sensor, iSight camera built into black bezel, like MB/MBP, Ethernet, USB, Firewire would be nice, but not holding my breath. MiniDisplayPort, and Mag-safe. An express card slot is not too much to ask with so little equipment having to be in the computer (no inner layer exposed by hinge opening, etc) and to be widely versatile even for professional use, for whatever someone might think of that the internal systems don't cover, like eSata, or future protocols.
Core 2 Solo or Duo processor, Nvidia video subsystem, DDR3 mobile RAM up to 4GB at least.
Optional desk accessory that sets the device in a form-fitting easel, and connects the ports to a desktop hub, or can be used with wireless keyboard and mouse via bluetooth, or however else you would choose to connect a hard keyboard and/or mouse. External display via MiniDisplayPort for larger monitor or projector use, if not using a network-ready projector wirelessly.
With a flush glass top, and a laser/waterjet cut billet anodized aluminum bottom shell/frame, this would be what a tablet is capable of being.
Even in a 9-to-11" diagonal size, it would undercut the mobile laptop line, but be much more versatile and powerful than a PDA-class device, like iPhone or iPod Touch, while adapting the amazingly intuitive qualities that those devices have brought forward.
And such a device would kick the netbook market in the rear, and not just be a an Apple flavor of those existing devices.
Apple doesn't follow. They either innovate, or stagnate.
Two things that Apple needs to do.
CATCH UP WITH THE BASE OF THE DESKTOP MARKET, and that isn't iMac. iMac is only the base of APPLE's desktop market. The rest of the world still has a use for a headless consumer desktop.
A Mac Mini, xMac, whatever you want to call it. Desktop hardware, and a small base of configurability and upgradeability. Versatility to work as a small server, small workstation, or small HTPC more capable than an AppleTV.
The Second thing, and something that is a new turn on the "netBook."
Call it the iPad, AirPad, netPod, or whatever. A real-world-actual do-almost-anything tablet like the Padd on Star Trek, or something. But it can also connect to peripherals, even on a desk.
MacBook-like hardware, macBook Air like dimensions, or slightly smaller diagonally. No hinges, open-faced slate tablet with multi-touch, and stylus capability. No moving parts (solid state everything), no keys save a wake/home button like iPhone/iPT. No optical drive, but rather OD sharing. Full OS functions, including running BootCamp or virtualization, as a full computer, not a PDA, even if iPhone/iPT are decent PDAs.
Full WiFi/BT/3G wireless, infrared remote sensor, iSight camera built into black bezel, like MB/MBP, Ethernet, USB, Firewire would be nice, but not holding my breath.
MiniDisplayPort, and Mag-safe. An express card slot is not too much to ask with so little equipment having to be in the computer (no inner layer exposed by hinge opening, etc) and to be widely versatile even for professional use, for whatever someone might think of that the internal systems don't cover, like eSata, or future protocols.Core 2 Solo or Duo processor, Nvidia video subsystem, DDR3 mobile RAM up to 4GB at least.
Optional desk accessory that sets the device in a form-fitting easel, and connects the ports to a desktop hub, or can be used with wireless keyboard and mouse via bluetooth, or however else you would choose to connect a hard keyboard and/or mouse. External display via MiniDisplayPort for larger monitor or projector use, if not using a network-ready projector wirelessly.
With a flush glass top, and a laser/waterjet cut billet anodized aluminum bottom shell/frame, this would be what a tablet is capable of being.
Even in a 9-to-11" diagonal size, it would undercut the mobile laptop line, but be much more versatile and powerful than a PDA-class device, like iPhone or iPod Touch, while adapting the amazingly intuitive qualities that those devices have brought forward.
And such a device would kick the netbook market in the rear, and not just be a an Apple flavor of those existing devices.
Call it the iPad, or whatever.
MacBook-like hardware, macBook Air like dimensions, or slightly smaller diagonally. No hinges, open-faced slate tablet with multi-touch, and stylus capability. No moving parts (solid state everything), no keys save a wake/home button like iPhone/iPT. No optical drive, but rather OD sharing. Full OS functions, including running BootCamp or virtualization, as a full computer, not a PDA, even if iPhone/iPT are decent PDAs.
Full WiFi/BT/3G wireless, infrared remote sensor, iSight camera built into black bezel, like MB/MBP, Ethernet, USB, Firewire would be nice, but not holding my breath.
Core 2 Solo or Duo processor, Nvidia video subsystem, DDR3 mobile RAM up to 4GB at least.
Optional desk accessory that sets the device in a form-fitting easel, and connects the ports to a desktop hub, or can be used with wireless keyboard and mouse via bluetooth, or however else you would choose to connect a hard keyboard and/or mouse. External display via MiniDisplayPort for larger monitor or projector use, if not using a network-ready projector wirelessly.
With a flush glass top, and a laser/waterjet cut billet anodized aluminum bottom shell/frame, this would be what a tablet is capable of being.
Even in a 9-to-11" diagonal size, it would undercut the mobile laptop line, but be much more versatile and powerful than a PDA-class device, like iPhone or iPod Touch, while adapting the amazingly intuitive qualities that those devices have brought forward.
And such a device would kick the netbook market in the rear, and not just be a an Apple flavor of those existing devices.
God that would nice but damn if it's even possible it would be like $5K.
i read the statement to mean that since STEVE took HIS leave of absence, HE (steve) was spending more time examining iPhone strategies, etc.
and no matter how many times i read the article at the top of this thread, i still can't find anything referring to ideas about a netbook, as the headline states. Can anyone tell me what i'm missing?
The ability to make crap assumptions based off little to no evidence. In other words, the crutch of the tech journalism industry.