John on Tech...
A look at technology from MY point of view
Friday 24 July 2009, 3:51 PM
Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing...
Well that was harsh. This morning we wake up to Microsoft falling 10% on the stock market having failed to meet their guidance for Q4. Revenue plunged 17% and profit was down 29%. Seems like a bad hangover from a very bad night.
Losers
Well the big losers last night, apart from Mr Ballmer, were Kevin Turner and Rob Enderle. Firstly, we will look at Rob's latest missive. Yesterday before the earnings release he was quoted on CNBC saying the following:
“I’m expecting some really good news in terms of outlook for [Microsoft],” Enderle told CNBC. “They just released their Windows 7 to manufacturing—which means they are on track to release it by the fourth quarter—and R2, their second generation of their current generation of servers come out and that’s typically a big revenue generator for the firm.”
Enderle said Microsoft has been executing well in the last several months. “They brought out a solid advertising campaign,” he said. “Microsoft has always been under-marketing and now they’re marketing well.”
It is a shame for him to be quoted so widely and yet within a few short hours to be seen to have been so badly wrong.
A Tale told by an Idiot
This leads me to my second loser. The last point highlighted by Rob, marketing, is where Kevin Turner's problems lie. Last week we had Kevin Turner crowing about the Laptop Hunter ads:
"And you know why I know they're working? Because two weeks ago we got a call from the Apple legal department saying, hey -- this is a true story -- saying, "Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices." They took like $100 off or something. It was the greatest single phone call in the history that I've ever taken in business. (Applause.) I did cartwheels down the hallway. At first I said, "Is this a joke? Who are you?" Not understanding what an opportunity. And so we're just going to keep running them and running them and running them."
Well Apple's sales figures released for the duration of the Laptop Hunter ads belie the fact that they "are working". Apple laptop sales went up during the period. Yes, I know that Apple revved the machines and dropped the prices BUT last month everyone at Microsoft was celebrating how dreadfully Apple did in May. Apple fixed that and had a blow-out June. It is ironic that Microsoft have managed to instill into the American psyche that the Apple is the machine with value.
But the main issue that Kevin was crowing about - he was contacted by Apple's Legal department to tell them to change the ads so that they don't feature outdated prices seems to have had someone actually do something. Microsoft have ordered YouTube to take down the original ads and are now running re-edited versions of them with no mention of the price as scripted in the original ads.
So for all his bluster last week Kevin seems to have had to heed to Apple's request. it was all sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Losers
Well the big losers last night, apart from Mr Ballmer, were Kevin Turner and Rob Enderle. Firstly, we will look at Rob's latest missive. Yesterday before the earnings release he was quoted on CNBC saying the following:
“I’m expecting some really good news in terms of outlook for [Microsoft],” Enderle told CNBC. “They just released their Windows 7 to manufacturing—which means they are on track to release it by the fourth quarter—and R2, their second generation of their current generation of servers come out and that’s typically a big revenue generator for the firm.”
Enderle said Microsoft has been executing well in the last several months. “They brought out a solid advertising campaign,” he said. “Microsoft has always been under-marketing and now they’re marketing well.”
It is a shame for him to be quoted so widely and yet within a few short hours to be seen to have been so badly wrong.
A Tale told by an Idiot
This leads me to my second loser. The last point highlighted by Rob, marketing, is where Kevin Turner's problems lie. Last week we had Kevin Turner crowing about the Laptop Hunter ads:
"And you know why I know they're working? Because two weeks ago we got a call from the Apple legal department saying, hey -- this is a true story -- saying, "Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices." They took like $100 off or something. It was the greatest single phone call in the history that I've ever taken in business. (Applause.) I did cartwheels down the hallway. At first I said, "Is this a joke? Who are you?" Not understanding what an opportunity. And so we're just going to keep running them and running them and running them."
Well Apple's sales figures released for the duration of the Laptop Hunter ads belie the fact that they "are working". Apple laptop sales went up during the period. Yes, I know that Apple revved the machines and dropped the prices BUT last month everyone at Microsoft was celebrating how dreadfully Apple did in May. Apple fixed that and had a blow-out June. It is ironic that Microsoft have managed to instill into the American psyche that the Apple is the machine with value.
But the main issue that Kevin was crowing about - he was contacted by Apple's Legal department to tell them to change the ads so that they don't feature outdated prices seems to have had someone actually do something. Microsoft have ordered YouTube to take down the original ads and are now running re-edited versions of them with no mention of the price as scripted in the original ads.
So for all his bluster last week Kevin seems to have had to heed to Apple's request. it was all sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Friday 24 July 2009, 1:06 AM
Palm now open themselves up to be sued by Apple
In a late attempt to restore the status quo, Palm released an update on the 23rd to allow the Pre to sync yet again with iTunes.
This is a dumb move on Palm's part.
Firstly it is proving that they have the geek cred to keep coming back at Apple to make it work. Well done guys. Now stop.
Secondly it shows that they are only interested in hacking their device to make it work with iTunes as opposed to actually do the right thing and develop their own software to read the XML file that iTunes creates - like all the other people who "sync" with iTunes. You know - why bother to actually work when you can cheat your way out?
So it boils down to this. I give Apple about a week before the cease and desist order hits Palm's desk. Palm are attempting to pass the Pre off as an iPod. This will not do. Welcome to the legal system Palm.
This is a dumb move on Palm's part.
Firstly it is proving that they have the geek cred to keep coming back at Apple to make it work. Well done guys. Now stop.
Secondly it shows that they are only interested in hacking their device to make it work with iTunes as opposed to actually do the right thing and develop their own software to read the XML file that iTunes creates - like all the other people who "sync" with iTunes. You know - why bother to actually work when you can cheat your way out?
So it boils down to this. I give Apple about a week before the cease and desist order hits Palm's desk. Palm are attempting to pass the Pre off as an iPod. This will not do. Welcome to the legal system Palm.
Thursday 23 July 2009, 4:18 PM
Ten reasons open-source smart phones will not win out
Apple gave the mobile industry a good kick in the pants when it announced the iPhone. Many mocked. We got Ed Colligan from Palm saying that the computer people weren't going to just step in and take this market - he is now in retirement having been replaced by ex-Apple employee Jon Rubinstein - who ironically can be described as a computer person. Steve Ballmer of course chimed in - he really SHOULD keep his mouth shut occasionally to say that the iPhone had "no chance of getting any significant market share" - WinMo is currently in a holding pattern waiting for the release of 6.5 while they have made the mistake of pre announcing 7 which is still a ways off. And finally 18 months into the iPhone release we have Elevation Partners Roger MacNamee declaring that "June 29, 2009, is the two-year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone. Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later. Think about it—if you bought the first iPhone, you bought it because you wanted the coolest product on the market. Your two-year contract has just expired. Look around. Tell me what they’re going to buy." Well Roger I think most of them lined up to buy the iPhone 3Gs. Apple shipped something like a million and a half of 'em in the first weekend while the pre managed around 50,000 for their launch.
Jack Wallen in his article suggested that there are ten reasons why open-source smart phones will win out. I think he's wrong and here is my response. The Android and the Pre are the first proper responses to the iPhone and yet they are lacking in many ways. Jack wrote a pretty pro pre / android article I think his enthusiam for the Pre coulded his judgement. Here's why I think he is wrong.
1. Open standards
The iPhone is pretty damn open for a proprietary phone. The SDK is free and anyone can develop for it. To release software it costs a hundred dollars to register but that can be a pretty small investment considering the rewards. There are advantages to following Apple's standards too. There will be some issues to openness - take the UAE software update to the Blackberry that installed spyware on each and every machine - and this was carrier approved! Blackberry are fuming. With open software this kind of thing gets much easier to do. The iPhone has actually worked to create open standards which are adhered to because they are open. The iPod basically killed DRM - Plays for Sure devices met their death at its hand - Apple have consistently pushed open standards over the years when Microsoft's proprietary standards were being heavily applied by both Microsoft and the content providers.
Jack's argument here is conveniently ignoring the steps Apple have taken in this direction. Couple of points to add here. Who handed WebKit back to the community which both android and the pre use? That would be Apple, Jack. Also Open Source does not necessarily mean Open Standards.
2. More applications
Jack is missing the point here. Just because people can develop for free doesn't mean that people will come. One of the reasons that it is easy to develop for the iPhone and iPod Touch is that they are a standard platform. Companies like to fiddle, and phone companies LOVE to fiddle so that their product has differentiation in the market. This sort of thing will make developing for these phones not as straightforward as Jack would like us to think.
"You want a different browser on your iPhone? No luck." Jack fumes forgetting that in his first argument he was promoting open standards with "websites will load as expected" which is what you get from having a standards compliant browser installed.
I think he is discounting that the developers head towards where the interest is at the moment that seems to be entirely iPhone. Exponential growth only comes with exponential customer growth at the moment, and for the foreseeable future that is with the iPhone. The others are making waves but only amongst the geek crowd who see buying a pre or an Android phone as a way of sticking it to Apple.
"But I expect mobile versions of Firefox and Chrome to appear on the Pre and the Android-based phones. That process will continue until one or both of their app stores surpasses the Apple app store." And how does this improve things? Choice does not mean better by default. If one of these browsers is "better" then how is it adhering to standards?
3. Security
Security is a big subject - bigger than 3 sentences, Jack. Firstly, "Apple has already shown that it can be painfully slow at releasing updates for the iPhone." Yes, 3 complete OS updates in two and a half years is painfully slow.
"Because of the open-source nature of the competition, updates will not be so slow to arrive. So when a security hole or flaw is found, the update will find its way to the end user much more quickly." Not necessarily - also because of it's open source nature holes can be discovered by the attacking party quicker too.
"Of course, it is not really just about the updates. The very foundation of the Pre and the Android phone is Linux-based, so they will enjoy a more fundamentally sound level of security than, say, any of the Windows Mobile phones available." By bringing up Winmo you have completely ignored that the argument you have presented about the Pre and the Android are inherent in the iPhone as well.
"And although mobile-phone security has yet to become a widespread issue, with smart phones becoming the norm, it will be soon enough." Yes, well I'm sure that companies like Norton and McAffee will want to get their products on something soon now that Microsoft are giving away virus protection with Windows 7.
There are already a couple of serious security issues for the iPhone - one of which will be demonstrated this weekend in Las Vegas - but again that is for an OLD version of the OS not the current one. But keep your eyes peeled for "world coming to an end on iPhone" headlines next Monday. The other one is the jailbreak issue meaning people are being sent other peoples push notifications. Guys if you break your phone you cannot complain that Apple have done things wrong. Well done you are now the owner of a hacked iPhone. Accept the consequences.
4. Customization
"I have been an iPhone owner since the first-generation device. One of my biggest beefs with this phone is how little you can customize it. It is not theme-able. For a device that is supposed to be the pinnacle of hip, that shortcoming is a setback. With the open-source version of the smartphone, you can be sure you will be able to theme and customize it. Sites have already started appearing, such as Pimp My Pre."
Jailbreak and be done. This is not really that important other than emulating k12 coloring-in books (infant school to those in the UK). There are many sites that offer the same things for Jail-broken iPhones for years now.
"I know this issue is not a deal-breaker for IT professionals. But average users — and they make up the largest demographic of smartphone users — want to be able to personalise the look of their phones."
It must be a total mystery to you as to why the darn things sell at all. The Facebook generation appear to be going with the iPhone as the Facebook App is a fantastic way of keeping in touch.
5. Connectivity
If you are talking about Synchronization then why label it connectivity? But I digress. Microsoft exchange will synch Email, calendar and contacts. Mobile me works pretty well but I can understand if you don't want to shell out for an account. There are quite a few apps on the app store that allow you to move files to and from the device and a cursory Google search came up with plenty of other ways of synchronizing data with the iPhone without iTunes available NOW not in some "matter of time".
6. Cost
Palm are advertising the so-called cost advantage - you can save "UP TO $1,200" if you use both service providers unlimited everything plan - I think they are comparing Sprints 99 bucks to AT&T’s 149. However a lot of people can get away with the 60 buck iPhone plan and that would save an additional $960 on the Sprint plan quoted.
Palm are going all out to point up the additional costs of the iPhone when compared to the Pre and yet people are still buying the iPhone in their millions whereas Palm are shipping them in their thousands. What gives?
7. Multitasking
"The iPhone simply cannot multitask." This is a completely false statement. Play some music on the iPod part of the phone and then start browsing. Multitasking. The iPhone can multitask pretty damn well thank you. What it can't do is multitask third party apps. This is the last remaining Apple restriction in the OS - but hey it's a killer isn't it?
"You want to have more than one application open at once, feel free if you are on the Pre." But be prepared to say goodbye to that battery life. Some people are claiming 3 hours - less than 40 minutes if one of the apps is streaming video. This is actually in place to protect the users. At the moment Apple want the perception of the phone to be fast and with a sensible battery life. That is what you get. Most people do not give two hoots about multitasking. All they care about is does it work?
"The operating system powering both the Pre and the Android is Linux, and it was created for multitasking and networking." And UNIX doesn't allow this? You are muddling a usage decision with a technical decision. It is all about how the device works in the hands of an end user not a geek god.
8. Push Gmail
Push mail is handled pretty damn well on the iPhone. Be it mobile me or exchange server - Gmail not so much. There is no reason for Google to develop this feature for the iPhone and at the moment they seem to be dragging their feet. So much for "do no evil"
9. Developers
"Do you remember that Verizon commercial where the spokesperson has a massive amount of people with him to represent the Verizon network? You can apply the same analogy to the developer network for the Pre and the Android."
Ha ha ha ha ha. Good luck with that. Yes there are a lot of open source developers around the world. JUST BECAUSE they are open-source developers does not mean they will drop everything and develop for phones. This is such a dumb analogy it almost defies any kind of analysis.
"And you can imagine how the collective open-source development community would love to take down the behemoth known as Apple." So it's a vendetta is it?
Apple have a large number of in-house staff working on the OS - we are currently on the 3rd iteration of the OS (with current developers having access to a second beta of 3.1) They, far from being a behemoth, are actually working pretty damned fast if you ask me.
And lets not forget the 100,000 registered developers for the iPhone program. These are people who have ponied up cash to actually develop for the thing - not some lose amalgam of people who are "doing it coz it's right".
10. Creativity
"How long do you think it will be before the open-source community has created a super-light version of Apache to run on the Pre? Imagine being able to carry your own web server around with you. How much geek cred will that bring? And it will not end there."
Well let's see how long your service provider is going to let you get away with that. It's also not like there are no apps that do file serving on the iPhone - I have at least two that let me share files wirelessly with my local network. It's not a big step to do a web server. In fact Slashdot had an article in May about an App that does just that. So not a great or indeed unique step from your imagination to an app that has been available for 3 months already on the app store.
If you really think that the developers for the iPhone "Lack Creativity" then you have another think coming. Before you implement your Pre conversion - why don't you actually spend some time checking the App store to see what the hundred thousand developers are actually up to. If you have an idea then Google it - it will probably lead you to some stuff you just haven't bothered to look for.
Generally the article was written to gee up the developers and make people feel good about themselves. But if you had actually done your homework Jack and bothered to research further and not read from the Pre's playbook (I know you are excited but your excitement has blinded you) you would find that most of the things you are promoting for the Android and the Pre are already here for the iPhone.
Jack Wallen in his article suggested that there are ten reasons why open-source smart phones will win out. I think he's wrong and here is my response. The Android and the Pre are the first proper responses to the iPhone and yet they are lacking in many ways. Jack wrote a pretty pro pre / android article I think his enthusiam for the Pre coulded his judgement. Here's why I think he is wrong.
1. Open standards
The iPhone is pretty damn open for a proprietary phone. The SDK is free and anyone can develop for it. To release software it costs a hundred dollars to register but that can be a pretty small investment considering the rewards. There are advantages to following Apple's standards too. There will be some issues to openness - take the UAE software update to the Blackberry that installed spyware on each and every machine - and this was carrier approved! Blackberry are fuming. With open software this kind of thing gets much easier to do. The iPhone has actually worked to create open standards which are adhered to because they are open. The iPod basically killed DRM - Plays for Sure devices met their death at its hand - Apple have consistently pushed open standards over the years when Microsoft's proprietary standards were being heavily applied by both Microsoft and the content providers.
Jack's argument here is conveniently ignoring the steps Apple have taken in this direction. Couple of points to add here. Who handed WebKit back to the community which both android and the pre use? That would be Apple, Jack. Also Open Source does not necessarily mean Open Standards.
2. More applications
Jack is missing the point here. Just because people can develop for free doesn't mean that people will come. One of the reasons that it is easy to develop for the iPhone and iPod Touch is that they are a standard platform. Companies like to fiddle, and phone companies LOVE to fiddle so that their product has differentiation in the market. This sort of thing will make developing for these phones not as straightforward as Jack would like us to think.
"You want a different browser on your iPhone? No luck." Jack fumes forgetting that in his first argument he was promoting open standards with "websites will load as expected" which is what you get from having a standards compliant browser installed.
I think he is discounting that the developers head towards where the interest is at the moment that seems to be entirely iPhone. Exponential growth only comes with exponential customer growth at the moment, and for the foreseeable future that is with the iPhone. The others are making waves but only amongst the geek crowd who see buying a pre or an Android phone as a way of sticking it to Apple.
"But I expect mobile versions of Firefox and Chrome to appear on the Pre and the Android-based phones. That process will continue until one or both of their app stores surpasses the Apple app store." And how does this improve things? Choice does not mean better by default. If one of these browsers is "better" then how is it adhering to standards?
3. Security
Security is a big subject - bigger than 3 sentences, Jack. Firstly, "Apple has already shown that it can be painfully slow at releasing updates for the iPhone." Yes, 3 complete OS updates in two and a half years is painfully slow.
"Because of the open-source nature of the competition, updates will not be so slow to arrive. So when a security hole or flaw is found, the update will find its way to the end user much more quickly." Not necessarily - also because of it's open source nature holes can be discovered by the attacking party quicker too.
"Of course, it is not really just about the updates. The very foundation of the Pre and the Android phone is Linux-based, so they will enjoy a more fundamentally sound level of security than, say, any of the Windows Mobile phones available." By bringing up Winmo you have completely ignored that the argument you have presented about the Pre and the Android are inherent in the iPhone as well.
"And although mobile-phone security has yet to become a widespread issue, with smart phones becoming the norm, it will be soon enough." Yes, well I'm sure that companies like Norton and McAffee will want to get their products on something soon now that Microsoft are giving away virus protection with Windows 7.
There are already a couple of serious security issues for the iPhone - one of which will be demonstrated this weekend in Las Vegas - but again that is for an OLD version of the OS not the current one. But keep your eyes peeled for "world coming to an end on iPhone" headlines next Monday. The other one is the jailbreak issue meaning people are being sent other peoples push notifications. Guys if you break your phone you cannot complain that Apple have done things wrong. Well done you are now the owner of a hacked iPhone. Accept the consequences.
4. Customization
"I have been an iPhone owner since the first-generation device. One of my biggest beefs with this phone is how little you can customize it. It is not theme-able. For a device that is supposed to be the pinnacle of hip, that shortcoming is a setback. With the open-source version of the smartphone, you can be sure you will be able to theme and customize it. Sites have already started appearing, such as Pimp My Pre."
Jailbreak and be done. This is not really that important other than emulating k12 coloring-in books (infant school to those in the UK). There are many sites that offer the same things for Jail-broken iPhones for years now.
"I know this issue is not a deal-breaker for IT professionals. But average users — and they make up the largest demographic of smartphone users — want to be able to personalise the look of their phones."
It must be a total mystery to you as to why the darn things sell at all. The Facebook generation appear to be going with the iPhone as the Facebook App is a fantastic way of keeping in touch.
5. Connectivity
If you are talking about Synchronization then why label it connectivity? But I digress. Microsoft exchange will synch Email, calendar and contacts. Mobile me works pretty well but I can understand if you don't want to shell out for an account. There are quite a few apps on the app store that allow you to move files to and from the device and a cursory Google search came up with plenty of other ways of synchronizing data with the iPhone without iTunes available NOW not in some "matter of time".
6. Cost
Palm are advertising the so-called cost advantage - you can save "UP TO $1,200" if you use both service providers unlimited everything plan - I think they are comparing Sprints 99 bucks to AT&T’s 149. However a lot of people can get away with the 60 buck iPhone plan and that would save an additional $960 on the Sprint plan quoted.
Palm are going all out to point up the additional costs of the iPhone when compared to the Pre and yet people are still buying the iPhone in their millions whereas Palm are shipping them in their thousands. What gives?
7. Multitasking
"The iPhone simply cannot multitask." This is a completely false statement. Play some music on the iPod part of the phone and then start browsing. Multitasking. The iPhone can multitask pretty damn well thank you. What it can't do is multitask third party apps. This is the last remaining Apple restriction in the OS - but hey it's a killer isn't it?
"You want to have more than one application open at once, feel free if you are on the Pre." But be prepared to say goodbye to that battery life. Some people are claiming 3 hours - less than 40 minutes if one of the apps is streaming video. This is actually in place to protect the users. At the moment Apple want the perception of the phone to be fast and with a sensible battery life. That is what you get. Most people do not give two hoots about multitasking. All they care about is does it work?
"The operating system powering both the Pre and the Android is Linux, and it was created for multitasking and networking." And UNIX doesn't allow this? You are muddling a usage decision with a technical decision. It is all about how the device works in the hands of an end user not a geek god.
8. Push Gmail
Push mail is handled pretty damn well on the iPhone. Be it mobile me or exchange server - Gmail not so much. There is no reason for Google to develop this feature for the iPhone and at the moment they seem to be dragging their feet. So much for "do no evil"
9. Developers
"Do you remember that Verizon commercial where the spokesperson has a massive amount of people with him to represent the Verizon network? You can apply the same analogy to the developer network for the Pre and the Android."
Ha ha ha ha ha. Good luck with that. Yes there are a lot of open source developers around the world. JUST BECAUSE they are open-source developers does not mean they will drop everything and develop for phones. This is such a dumb analogy it almost defies any kind of analysis.
"And you can imagine how the collective open-source development community would love to take down the behemoth known as Apple." So it's a vendetta is it?
Apple have a large number of in-house staff working on the OS - we are currently on the 3rd iteration of the OS (with current developers having access to a second beta of 3.1) They, far from being a behemoth, are actually working pretty damned fast if you ask me.
And lets not forget the 100,000 registered developers for the iPhone program. These are people who have ponied up cash to actually develop for the thing - not some lose amalgam of people who are "doing it coz it's right".
10. Creativity
"How long do you think it will be before the open-source community has created a super-light version of Apache to run on the Pre? Imagine being able to carry your own web server around with you. How much geek cred will that bring? And it will not end there."
Well let's see how long your service provider is going to let you get away with that. It's also not like there are no apps that do file serving on the iPhone - I have at least two that let me share files wirelessly with my local network. It's not a big step to do a web server. In fact Slashdot had an article in May about an App that does just that. So not a great or indeed unique step from your imagination to an app that has been available for 3 months already on the app store.
If you really think that the developers for the iPhone "Lack Creativity" then you have another think coming. Before you implement your Pre conversion - why don't you actually spend some time checking the App store to see what the hundred thousand developers are actually up to. If you have an idea then Google it - it will probably lead you to some stuff you just haven't bothered to look for.
Generally the article was written to gee up the developers and make people feel good about themselves. But if you had actually done your homework Jack and bothered to research further and not read from the Pre's playbook (I know you are excited but your excitement has blinded you) you would find that most of the things you are promoting for the Android and the Pre are already here for the iPhone.
Tuesday 21 July 2009, 9:41 PM
Apple Figures are in!
From the press release...
"CUPERTINO, Calif., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 third quarter ended June 27, 2009. The Company posted revenue of $8.34 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.23 billion, or $1.35 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.46 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.3 percent, up from 34.8 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 44 percent of the quarter's revenue.
Apple sold 2.6 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a four percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter, representing a seven percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhones sold were 5.2 million, representing 626 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter."
Following on from my earlier post I would suggest that with 2.6 million Macs sold in the quarter that Microsoft have succeeded with the Laptop Hunter ads in fixing in everyone's mind that it is the Mac you want to buy. I find this really strange that this appears to be the message that is actually being taken away from what was supposed to be an anti-Apple campaign. Perhaps Microsoft, making the mistake of mentioning number two, are actually instilling the Mac advantage with these adverts.
"CUPERTINO, Calif., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2009 third quarter ended June 27, 2009. The Company posted revenue of $8.34 billion and a net quarterly profit of $1.23 billion, or $1.35 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $7.46 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.07 billion, or $1.19 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.3 percent, up from 34.8 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 44 percent of the quarter's revenue.
Apple sold 2.6 million Macintosh® computers during the quarter, representing a four percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 10.2 million iPods during the quarter, representing a seven percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter. Quarterly iPhones sold were 5.2 million, representing 626 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter."
Following on from my earlier post I would suggest that with 2.6 million Macs sold in the quarter that Microsoft have succeeded with the Laptop Hunter ads in fixing in everyone's mind that it is the Mac you want to buy. I find this really strange that this appears to be the message that is actually being taken away from what was supposed to be an anti-Apple campaign. Perhaps Microsoft, making the mistake of mentioning number two, are actually instilling the Mac advantage with these adverts.
Tuesday 21 July 2009, 1:46 PM
Rob Enderle keeps making the same mistakes...
Rob Enderle has clearly articulated why Microsoft will fail going up against Apple. The so-called "principal analyst for the Enderle Group, a consultancy that focuses on personal technology products and trends." has an article up at techworldnews: Microsoft Makes Apple Eat Humble Apple Pie. He is referring to the tub bashing from Microsoft's Kevin Turner earlier last week. Who claimed that he was called by "Apple legal" to pull the current batch of Laptop Hunter ads from their current campaign. Much laughing from MS shills all week ensued.
Rob Enderle's article is full of the standard misconceptions that Microsoft and it's fans make when looking at Apple. The first error is that Apple is NOT just a marketing company. There is engineering and design work done at Apple that is of extreme value and beyond anything Microsoft is capable of - until Apple does it - and then they just fire up their photocopiers. This has worked in the past as Microsoft have had boatloads of money to throw at stuff. Apple innovate by developing stuff in house; Microsoft innovate by buying in the technology they want.
Secondly if Microsoft were an engineering based company then where's the meat? Where's the innovation? We see lots of stuff shown off by Microsoft - some of it very interesting - say project Natal. But it is all years away - it is all smoke and mirrors. If Apple were to show off something like project Natal (I am not saying Apple would do this - it is just an example for sake of argument) then it would be released immediately or within weeks (the iPhone was an exception being pre-announced a whole six months before release - but hey - we're not talking sometime in the vague future like we are with project Natal).
"For Apple, marketing is strategic, and top marketing people would like to have Apple on their resume." See - he is damning Apple yet again with faint praise. Top "anything" people would like to have Apple on their resumé. Try the guys at Palm - a job at Apple seems to be the BEST thing to have on your resumé to work there at the moment. John Rubenstein (pretty certain not a marketing job he held at Apple) and Lynn Fox (OK perhaps PR was a part of marketing) are all ex Apple as well as many others.
Finally the "whiny call" from Apple was only articulated by a Microsoft employee. Call it spin. I would say more likely someone phoned to tell them they would have to update the ads following the recent price cuts - but to them it - and by Rob it was a "whiny call".
BTW in the real world since when did legal representatives just phone to complain? If Apple really was doing this then where is the typed letter in cryptic legalese - Apple are pretty good at sending out cease and desist letters I believe?
The whole premise of his argument is that Microsoft have finally got the "marketing" thing sorted and are now ready to take on the world is great - save for the fact that that is NOT the reason that Apple are succeeding. Rob is looking at all the noise and fury while all the time forgetting that the magicians are actually doing real work in the areas you are ignoring. It is sleight of hand trick but everyone seems to be looking at the magic trick while ignoring where the real work is being done.
The irony of all this is that the so called "successful Laptop Hunter ads" are working wonderfully for the wrong party - Apple may have had a bad May (people were waiting for the new machines) but rumors are surfacing that June was spectacular. Quoting from Philip Elmer DeWitt's site: "Well, the NPD numbers came out and they blew past even his most optimistic expectations. Rather than up 5% in June, as he hoped, they were up a whopping 16%. According to Munster’s second note of the day, that implies sales for the entire quarter of 2.6 million units." So looks like Kevin Turner may have misinterpreted the call. Perhaps Apple legal were calling to warn him that the Microsoft Ad Campaign was actually working - Apple sales were through the roof.
Rob Enderle's article is full of the standard misconceptions that Microsoft and it's fans make when looking at Apple. The first error is that Apple is NOT just a marketing company. There is engineering and design work done at Apple that is of extreme value and beyond anything Microsoft is capable of - until Apple does it - and then they just fire up their photocopiers. This has worked in the past as Microsoft have had boatloads of money to throw at stuff. Apple innovate by developing stuff in house; Microsoft innovate by buying in the technology they want.
Secondly if Microsoft were an engineering based company then where's the meat? Where's the innovation? We see lots of stuff shown off by Microsoft - some of it very interesting - say project Natal. But it is all years away - it is all smoke and mirrors. If Apple were to show off something like project Natal (I am not saying Apple would do this - it is just an example for sake of argument) then it would be released immediately or within weeks (the iPhone was an exception being pre-announced a whole six months before release - but hey - we're not talking sometime in the vague future like we are with project Natal).
"For Apple, marketing is strategic, and top marketing people would like to have Apple on their resume." See - he is damning Apple yet again with faint praise. Top "anything" people would like to have Apple on their resumé. Try the guys at Palm - a job at Apple seems to be the BEST thing to have on your resumé to work there at the moment. John Rubenstein (pretty certain not a marketing job he held at Apple) and Lynn Fox (OK perhaps PR was a part of marketing) are all ex Apple as well as many others.
Finally the "whiny call" from Apple was only articulated by a Microsoft employee. Call it spin. I would say more likely someone phoned to tell them they would have to update the ads following the recent price cuts - but to them it - and by Rob it was a "whiny call".
BTW in the real world since when did legal representatives just phone to complain? If Apple really was doing this then where is the typed letter in cryptic legalese - Apple are pretty good at sending out cease and desist letters I believe?
The whole premise of his argument is that Microsoft have finally got the "marketing" thing sorted and are now ready to take on the world is great - save for the fact that that is NOT the reason that Apple are succeeding. Rob is looking at all the noise and fury while all the time forgetting that the magicians are actually doing real work in the areas you are ignoring. It is sleight of hand trick but everyone seems to be looking at the magic trick while ignoring where the real work is being done.
The irony of all this is that the so called "successful Laptop Hunter ads" are working wonderfully for the wrong party - Apple may have had a bad May (people were waiting for the new machines) but rumors are surfacing that June was spectacular. Quoting from Philip Elmer DeWitt's site: "Well, the NPD numbers came out and they blew past even his most optimistic expectations. Rather than up 5% in June, as he hoped, they were up a whopping 16%. According to Munster’s second note of the day, that implies sales for the entire quarter of 2.6 million units." So looks like Kevin Turner may have misinterpreted the call. Perhaps Apple legal were calling to warn him that the Microsoft Ad Campaign was actually working - Apple sales were through the roof.
