Saturday, October 27, 2012

Apple : Apple VP: Apple does what PC competitors are 'afraid' to do

Apple : Apple VP: Apple does what PC competitors are 'afraid' to do

Apple VP: Apple does what PC competitors are 'afraid' to do

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Apple VP: Apple does what PC competitors are 'afraid' to do

Apple has become the world's most valuable company because, when it comes to making hard decisions that its PC competitors refuse to make, it puts the "hard" in hardware.

That's according to Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, in a recent interview with Time magazine.

"Old technologies [like rotating discs] are holding us back," Schiller said. "They're anchors on where we want to go."

"Our competitors are afraid to remove them. We find the things that have outlived their useful purpose."

iTunes, not Blu-ray, is the future for Apple

Optical drives are a relic that Apple has left to PCs. This week, a redesigned iMac was unveiled and its all-in-one components didn't include an archaic disc tray.

"In general, it's a good idea to remove these rotating medias from our computers and other devices," Schiller said.

"They have inherent issues - they're mechanical and sometimes break, they use power and are large. We can create products that are smaller, lighter and consume less power."

This is in contrast to the PC market, which is filled with notebooks that offer Blu-ray drives for a "home theater on the go." Apple doesn't feel left out.

"Blu-ray has come with issues unrelated to the actual quality of the movie that make [it] a complex and not-great technology…So for a whole plethora of reasons, it makes a lot of sense to get rid of optical discs in desktops and notebooks."

In the eye of Apple, netbooks were not-books

Apple has a history of ditching components that rival PC makers see as essential hardware for another decade, starting with the floppy disk drive in the 90s.

However, the company hasn't dropped so much weight from its slimmed-down computers that they're barebones in quality or price like netbooks.

"There were these products being created called netbooks," Schiller recalled to Time.

"People said they were the future. We rejected them because we thought they were poor. Even if the market was going there, we weren't going to chase everybody downhill."

Instead, he told Time that the iPad has become Apple's answer to the $500 (UK£310, AUD$482) computer.

"And now 100 million people agree that the iPad is a great computer."

Apple seems to have the same stance when the company says it won't make a 7-inch tablet. Schiller thinks consumers will pay $329 (£269/AUD$369) for the 7.9-inch iPad mini instead.

Apple's products priced on value

Surprisingly, Schiller thinks that economic woes aren't a hindrance to sales - they actually make people want Apple's more expensive products.

"When the economy is difficult, people care a great deal about the things they spend their money on," he says.

"Customers have come to understand that Apple's products aren't priced high - they're priced on the value of what we build into them."

"We wouldn't make something cheap or low quality," said Schiller. "Our approach at Apple has always been to make products we're proud to own and use ourselves."

Pandora investors shake after Apple internet radio rumors strengthen

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Pandora investors shake after Apple internet radio rumors strengthen

Earlier this year, reports circulated that Apple was on the verge of launching its own streaming music service.

At one time it was believed Apple was readying the purported internet radio service to release alongside the iPhone 5, but the smartphone's launch has come and gone with nary a mention of such a program from the company.

In early October, rumors surfaced indicating the delay in the launch was caused by a dispute between Apple and Sony over the amount of royalties to be paid per stream.

Sources close to the matter at hand reported to the New York Post that Apple's potential plan wouldn't just serve tracks up based on algorithms like Pandora, but rather would push the tracks music producers wanted to promote.

It appears the delay was shortlived, and Apple's talks with the music industry have resumed, as investors in Pandora are rapidly abandoning the internet radio service at an alarming rate.

Pandora panic

Pandora's stock fell 12 percent Friday, after the shares fell 13 percent to $8.08 (UK £5.02, AUD$7.80) on Thursday.

Since the rumors of Apple's own internet radio service began circulating in September, Pandora's stock has fallen 40 percent overall.

Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group Corp and Sony Corp's music division have reportedly visited with Apple in recent weeks, and a deal could potentially be reached as early as mid-November.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is eyeing a first-quarter 2013 launch for the service, which would be contingent on deals with music publishers being wrapped up quickly.

But focused

Despite the troubles Pandora is facing, Eric Brown, the company's vice president of communications, told Reuters, "We remain focused on our listeners and delivering the best internet radio experience for them."

Pandora already faces competition from services like Spotify, Sirius XM Radio and the just-launched Xbox Music, though Apple's close ties to the music industry could make it Pandora's biggest threat to date.

TechRadar has reached out to Apple, and will update this story if and when a request for comment is returned.

Until a more official announcement is made, investors and consumers alike will have to wait and see just what kind of potentially game-changing service Apple has in store.

Tim Cook: We'll never make a 7-inch tablet

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Tim Cook: We'll never make a 7-inch tablet

Apple CEO Tim Cook moved to clarify his position on 7-inch tablets, vowing the company will never make one during an earnings call Thursday.

Apple's decision to launch an iPad mini drew some derision and allegations that the company had become a "trend follower," given the late Steve Jobs' infamous claim that 7-inch tablets were "dead on arrival".

However, Cook said there's a huge difference between the 7.9-inch iPad mini and tablets like the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire, slates with displays that measure 0.9-inches smaller but offer around a third less real estate.

The CEO said: "Referencing all comments Steve made before about 7-inch tablets: Let me be clear, we would not make one of the 7-inch tablets."

'A different league'

Cook went on to reinforce the highly disparaging comments made by Phil Schiller, senior vice president of global marketing during Tuesday's launch event.

"We don't think they are good products, and we would never make one. Not just because it's 7 inches, but for many reasons," Cook said.

"One of the reasons…is size. I'm not sure if you saw our keynote. The difference in just the size between 7.9 - almost eight - versus seven is 35 percent. And when you look at the usable area, it is much greater than that. You know, it is from 50 percent to 67 percent.

"The iPad mini has the same number of pixels as iPad 2 does. You have access to all 275,000 apps in our App Store. So, iPad mini is a fantastic product. It is not a compromise product like the 7-inch tablets. It is a whole different league."

Apple has certainly been on the offensive since launching the iPad mini, with Cook also offering choice words for the Microsoft Windows Surface RT tablet.

However, some folks may question: If the bosses at the world's biggest, most successful company have so much faith in their products (or, in this case, the precise dimensions of their products), then why are they being so defensive?
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