Ah, the endless hype of the Apple world. I had thought that I could leave all the Apple kerfuffle behind me, after loosing from my systems a grumpy post about the blogosphere’s collective orgasm over the lastest Apple news. I was wrong.
BetaNews, a publication that I enjoy, has published a piece entitled: “Apple declares war on the entire PC industry.” Read it here, then come back.
There are several central components to his article, let’s get them out. Netbooks are causing a race to the bottom in terms of the pricing and power of computing. Apple timed their event to combat Windows 7 hype. Apple had a great quarter! Netbooks steal sales from real laptops. Netbooks are going to hurt Windows. Windows 7 will stall Mac market share growth. Netbooks are bad. Apple by not getting into netbooks is being smart. Apple is declaring war on Windows, and the whole PC market in general. Netbooks are akin to the HIV infection.
That should sum it up nicely, now let’s actually take a look at what he is saying. His assertion that netbooks are popular is true, they are indeed. They are also much cheaper than traditonal laptops. Also, Windows makes less money selling Windows Starter than Windows Ultimate. No problems so far.
Now, with all of that, you would think that Microsoft would be dodging the netbook market like the “plauge.” The opposite is true, in fact. Windows 7 has been built with netbooks in mind, and with new processors coming out to complement the OS, netbooks and Windows 7 should sing in two part harmony. Why is this? Consumers love and want netbooks. Want to blame something for the explosion of demand in netbooks? Blame consumer demand, not the boogie man.
And here is where our problem begins, Wilcox of BetaNews seems to think that if there were no netbooks, all of those purchasers would have bought full laptops. Perhaps even Macs! Come, now, that is just ridiculous. What does the average person do with a laptop? Word, and Internet Explorer on the average. What part of that needs a full power laptop with four gigabytes of RAM?
Not one damn thing.
Especially with the explosion of online SAAS solutions, consumers have even less dependance on computing power. Netbooks are a major new direction of the entire computing market, not just he PC market. That said, his premise is wrong. Apple is in no way declaring war on the whole PC Industry, his own logic refutes it. Netbooks are too popular! Therefore Apple is declaring war on them by building expensive laptops that run a secondary OS by market share? If Apple was declaring war on the whole PC industry, they would have to introduce a netbook competitor, or by definition they are not declaring war on anything but their usual upscale market.
Let’s redo his headline a touch: “Apple Declares War On PC Power Users That Have An Average Of $1265 To Spend On A Laptop.” But if netbooks are such a plague due to their popularity, they must be a rising part of the PC (and even more so, Linux) ecosystems. QED, Apple is not declairing war on anyone.
Perhaps Apple enjoys trying to steal Redmond’s thunder on the Windows 7 front, but we will all be covering that. Wilcox asserts: “Exactly who is talking about Windows 7 today or will tomorrow? Or gasp, on launch day — Oct. 22nd?” Will a few Apple upgrades make us forget the launch of an operating system that in a few months of adoption will rival the total Mac market share?
Of course not, and until Apple understands that the mass market consumers demand low priced flexible computing options, and are only becoming more set in their ways, then they will always remain a bit player. Move along, nothing to see here.
I agree with you on the tendentious headline in Betanews. But your last paragraph?
What made you think Apple doesn’t understand that the mass market consumers demand low priced flexible computing options? They just opt not to focus on that market. There is nothing wrong with being a bit player either. One could say that TheNextWeb is a bit player in the grand publishing world. I don’t enjoy it any less for that.
On a side note, have you noticed that Apple is the ONLY tech player whose stock notation (AAPL) has fully recovered from the stock market crash in December 2 years ago, despite the economic climate. Not Microsoft, not Dell, not HP, not Sony, not even Google. I think Apple’s shareholders like Apple’s policy.
I agree that we are in transition, but is the iTablet really the next direction? It could be, but until we get our hands on it, how can we know?
We do know that netbooks are selling like free crack, and that Windows 7 is selling well, as well.
I think Apple do understand “that the mass market consumers demand low priced flexible computing options”
Thats whats feeding all the talk about an up and coming tablet device for 2010.
Instead of trying to beat Microsoft at is own game i.e that of traditional PC OS dominance. Apple is changing the field on which the game is played by bringing out devices that blur the distinction between laptop, cell phone -and if rumours are to be believed- kindle book reader type tablet devices.
To date Apple are managing this process very well and they along with Google look set to be the dominant IT players for the next 20 or 30 years. Look at history, IBM was only game in town in the 60′s 70′ and 80′s before it was superseded by Microsoft when the world switched from mainframes to PC’s.
Each technology transition brings along new players. And the transition we are living through at the moment will be no different.
Alex,
I somewhat agree. It does upset me that Apple hasn’t been able to price their products faily for the rest of us and that owning an Apple is now a sense of status, style and liberty.
I work a great job but just can’t seem to come up with $1200 for a computer without software that I have to have. I love Apple and their products, and the iPhone is a tribute to quality and at a price point where everyone can afford one. However, it would be nice to see Apple build a more cost efficient line of products, and no I do not think their $999 laptop is affordable for anyone.
By the time I would leave Apple with a 13″ Macbook Pro and some basic software, I could have bought a small used car that would last me 10 years.
But on the other hand, if it cost that much to build a quality product… I understand. They are the Mercedes of the computer industry.
-Josh
I have a mac which is why I like things to go inside where they should be coming out.
Hmm, that comment makes little sense. But, giving you the benefit of the doubt, I’ll do my best to “understand” more.
Want to point out where I am wrong? Ad hominem arguments carry little weight! :)
Alex,
Your light-on-thought, heavy-breathing style would be much better suited for a tablog like techcrunch.
I come to thenextweb because most of the contributors are rigorous in their thinking.
I hope that you either do the hard work of understanding technology and business or move on to something else.
Of course! I am not trying to say that Macs are not great machines, or that consumers do not value speed/quality, or whatever.
Just that they do not need much, and when it comes to purchasing a new computer, they buy as much as they need, and that is often just a netbook.
in other news: Lexus doesn’t make mopeds, nor do they make entry-level hatchbacks.
Obviously, Lexus will always be a niche player, as those who can’t afford them will make do quite happily with other models, and people who can afford one but don’t really care about cars will probably opt for the less expensive route as well.
However, if someone handed you the keys to a ford escort and a Lexus sedan, and told you to pick one – free of charge – I think we know what most people would choose.
No, I agree. I love and use Macs (mostly for video work, Final Cut Pro is amazing), but they are just not mass market consumer products. You hit the nail on the head.