Do You Like Apple?

[Pliablemoose]

That sounds like a lot of work...

In the dystopian future reality I live in, it's a quiet day. The zombies really suck, I just use my MBA as an ax to cut off their heads.

 

[Veliko]

Exactly. Mobile phones and Music players are some of the tech markets I was talking about. Apple sets the trend for:

Laptop Aesthetics
Operating systems layout
Tablets
Phones
Music Players
Mini Desktop design.

But as I said, overall Apple aren't that significant overall and those things you listed are why.

Laptop aesthetics and Mini Desktop design - really, who cares?
Apple copied the design for the iPhone from LG with the LG Prada and the iPad is essentially the same thing but larger.

 

[bozack]

I am conflicted with Apple...

On one hand at home we own some apple gear (Ipod, Ipad 2, Mac Mini) and it works well, though we had a number of earlier Ipods die on us (battery mostly).

I think they do an excellent job of designing and more importantly marketing products that people "want" to spend money on, they target the every user, and more specifically those who don't want to be bothered by technology yet rely on it daily.

I can think of countless owners I have met that simply love Apple and everything they do and are totally turned off by anything "PC" related.

I also think their mobility devices (Iphone and Ipad) are very good, and with management suites comming out that target these profile based devices enterprise adoption will just grow. Some really amazing stuff out there from Tangoe, Airwatch, and Mobile Iron...plus new players entering into the mix with LANDesk and others.

However....

there is a part of me that likes and hates the fact that they do both the software and the hardware....

As someone who is responsible for the team that has to manage hundreds of Mac systems in an enterprise environment (with that number possibly growing) I find them a challenge...

Impossible to standardize on an OS revision as every time they update the OS they release it with new hardware and don't make the drivers readily available for injection, thus we are somewhat forced to upgrade to the newer OS, guess this is a good and a bad but difficult to maintain a controlled environment.

Company isn't flexible with warranty coverage even if extensions or apple care is purchased, plus warranty costs are very high. With other brands I can get 3 years plus accidental damage for a fraction of what Apple charges.

Lockdown environments are brutally difficult to centrally manage....if you even want to install a printer, reconfigure your VPN or virtually anything you need administrative rights on a Mac.

Central management options limited both in options of what you can use and also what the suites offer....Casper by Jamf is good but support is horrible, LANDesk is also good but what you can do with it is seriously limited on the Mac.

ARD is a nice tool but still not as robust or feature rich as some of the more mature systems out there..

And don't get me started on application packaging and or software deployment, and no policy controls without using something totally 3rd party such as a product from Centrify...brutal.

Or the fact that they don't publish roadmaps for enterprise devices, probabily because they only offer consumer classed devices which companies try to integrate 🙂

The new models are getting better with some swappable components, but older laptops were brutal to service with tons of tiny screws to remove and aluminum frames which would bend...

But demand in the corporate space is growing, as is the push to more of a bring your own device model which will do well for Apple (though don't know how it would be supported by companies, I always see people using it as an excuse not to do work if something goes wrong with their personal equipment and blurred lines with where support starts and stops)

Either way I only see their stuff getting more popular as people love the look, the experience both of the systems, software, and the botique style retail experience.

IOS5 and Icloud will truly be exciting, really will take alot of personal responsibility with many things off of the shoulders of technically challenged users but wonder what the implications from a security and or IP control/security group would think of it....

Have yet to see a discussion surrounding SAS solutions in IP critical environments go "well" especially whe said solutions also store controlled data.

Hoping Apple really allows some enterprise level control for companies looking to leverage the technology but not holding my breath.

 

[Capt Caveman]

But as I said, overall Apple aren't that significant overall and those things you listed are why.

Laptop aesthetics and Mini Desktop design - really, who cares?
Apple copied the design for the iPhone from LG with the LG Prada and the iPad is essentially the same thing but larger.

iPhone officially announced Jan 9, 2007. LG Prada officially announced Jan 18, 2007. LG Prada may have been leaked earlier but it doesn't mean it was designed/developed/created before the iPhone. There are no patents that prove it and no lawsuits by LG. The Prada also did not have the eco-system that the iPhone had(apps, itunes store, etc).

 

[Veliko]

iPhone officially announced Jan 9, 2007. LG Prada officially announced Jan 18, 2007. LG Prada may have been leaked earlier but it doesn't mean it was designed/developed/created before the iPhone. There are no patents that prove it and no lawsuits by LG. The Prada also did not have the eco-system that the iPhone had(apps, itunes store, etc).

The fact that pictures appeared before iPhone and that it was released before the iPhone was is about as much proof that you need.

 

[Capt Caveman]

The fact that pictures appeared before iPhone and that it was released before the iPhone was is about as much proof that you need.

LOL!!! Yes, b/c the iPhone was developed in only a couple of months after the LG picture. More like Apple was more secretive about their product.

If that's all the proof you need, you are truly ignorant and a troll.

 

[Veliko]

LOL!!! Yes, b/c the iPhone was developed in only a couple of months after the LG picture. More like Apple was more secretive about their product.

If that's all the proof you need, you are truly ignorant and a troll.

If you don't think that something being leaked and released before another product isn't proof of it being released/designed/created first then I don't know what else there is to say.

 

[HAL9000]

But as I said, overall Apple aren't that significant overall and those things you listed are why.

Laptop aesthetics and Mini Desktop design - really, who cares?

People who buy laptops and mini desktops, and the companies that make them.

Apple copied the design for the iPhone from LG with the LG Prada and the iPad is essentially the same thing but larger.

I lol'd

 

[Veliko]

People who buy laptops and mini desktops, and the companies that make them.

Which, once again, is a small fragment overall.

 

[Capt Caveman]

If you don't think that something being leaked and released before another product isn't proof of it being released/designed/created first then I don't know what else there is to say.

Not sure if you're serious or just trolling.

 

[Wyndru]

I love technology, but not as much as you, you see... But I STILL love technology... Always and forever. Our love is like a flock of doves, flying up to heaven above... always and forever, always and forever... Why do you need me? Why do you love me? Always and forever...

 

[HAL9000]

Which, once again, is a small fragment overall.

Ok I think you must be joking now, I'd you think that people who buy laptops, tablets, mobile phones and music players are a small fragment of the overall tech market then you are delusional.

 

[Veliko]

Ok I think you must be joking now, I'd you think that people who buy laptops, tablets, mobile phones and music players are a small fragment of the overall tech market then you are delusional.

Apples marketshare of the laptop market really isn't very big at all and tablets have yet to make a huge impact.

Apple's mobile phones and music players are limited to rich people with disposable incomes.

 

[cheezy321]

Apples marketshare of the laptop market really isn't very big at all and tablets have yet to make a huge impact.

Apple's mobile phones and music players are limited to rich people with disposable incomes.

Lol. What planet do you live on?

 

[vi edit]

Apples marketshare of the laptop market really isn't very big at all and tablets have yet to make a huge impact.

Apple's mobile phones and music players are limited to rich people with disposable incomes.

There's been 275 million ipods sold.
Over 100 million iphones sold.
30 million ipads to date.
Apple sold almost 3 million laptops in Q1'11

Those aren't chump numbers for a single device manufacturer. And especially not chump numbers when you consider the upscale market they reside in. Apple accounts for something like 90% of all personal computers sold over $1000.

 

[Veliko]

There's been 275 million ipods sold.
Over 100 million iphones sold.
30 million ipads to date.
Apple sold almost 3 million laptops in Q1'11

Those aren't chump numbers for a single device manufacturer. And especially not chump numbers when you consider the upscale market they reside in. Apple accounts for something like 90% of all personal computers sold over $1000.

iPhones and iPods are Apples major business. Let's not lose sight of the fact that they are just music players and phones.

How many laptops overall were sold in Q1'11?
How many personal computers over $1000 are sold vs personal computers under $1000?

 

[vi edit]

How many laptops overall were sold in Q1'11?
How many personal computers over $1000 are sold vs personal computers under $1000?

Numbers sold are only part of the equation. There isn't a tech company out there that wouldn't trade financial positions with Apple. Most companies would gladly sell 1 device at a $10 profit than try to move 10 at $1 if they could.

Edit...

And "just" phones? Smart phones are essentially portable, pocket sized computers at this point. There isn't hardly a person in a 1st world country that doesn't have one. And the smart phone industry is rapidly growing as speeds and device functionality starts to blur the gap between conventional portable devices.

 

[Veliko]

Numbers sold are only part of the equation. There isn't a tech company out there that wouldn't trade financial positions with Apple. Most companies would gladly sell 1 device at a $10 profit than try to move 10 at $1 if they could.

Which goes back to my point about Apple's market being limited to rich people with disposable income.

And "just" phones? Smart phones are essentially portable, pocket sized computers at this point. There isn't hardly a person in a 1st world country that doesn't have one. And the smart phone industry is rapidly growing as speeds and device functionality starts to blur the gap between conventional portable devices.

Yes, 'just' phones. They are almost purely consumer, leisure devices made for consumption.

 

[vi edit]

Which goes back to my point about Apple's market being limited to rich people with disposable income.

Which isn't actually true at all. 15 years ago a decent computer ran you easily $1500-$2500. And normal households saved up for them and bought them. The cutthroat pricing and $300 computers and laptops is a recent phenomenon. $1000 for a computer is still "cheap" compared to what people used to pay for them. It's not an elite market because that's still half what a Packard Bell cost you in 1994.

 

[HAL9000]

Apples marketshare of the laptop market really isn't very big at all

It's the fourth largest, with an 8.5% market share.

and tablets have yet to make a huge impact.

Stupid or trolling. Tablets are making a huge impact on comparable tech, like netbooks.

Apple's mobile phones and music players are limited to rich people with disposable incomes.

Yeah you're right, it's not like they have the biggest selling smart phone or the biggest selling music player on the planet have they? 🙄

 

[Veliko]

Which isn't actually true at all. 15 years ago a decent computer ran you easily $1500-$2500. And normal households saved up for them and bought them. The cutthroat pricing and $300 computers and laptops is a recent phenomenon. $1000 for a computer is still "cheap" compared to what people used to pay for them. It's not an elite market because that's still half what a Packard Bell cost you in 1994.

This is not 15-years ago any more and $1000 is not cheap any longer.

 

[purbeast0]

bumping this for the lulz.

 

[Veliko]

It's the fourth largest, with an 8.5% market share.

So 91.5% of the laptops sold in the world are not Apple laptops then.

Stupid or trolling. Tablets are making a huge impact on comparable tech, like netbooks

'Comparable tech', yes. Not 'overall tech'.

Yeah you're right, it's not like they have the biggest selling smart phone or the biggest selling music player on the planet have they? 🙄

The smartphone and fancy music player market is limited to people in the rich world with disposable income.

 

[Capt Caveman]

So 91.5% of the laptops sold in the world are not Apple laptops then.

So? Apple sells more laptops than every other laptop maker besides Dell, HP and Toshiba. You need to differentiate total market to individual companies.

Apple has the highest market value of any high-tech company in the US for a reason.

The smartphone and fancy music player market is limited to people in the rich world with disposable income.

Incorrect. You can get a smartphone for free and you can buy a mp3 player at your local drug store.

 

[Mike Gayner]

You know what's worse than Apple fanboys? Anti-apple fanboys. Or is that Apple anti-fanboys?