I hardly am a blind follower. The slides were clearly labeled as to what they were measuring. maybe you should read them before spewing your usual negativity.
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Apples fall from grace
- Thread starter Michaelgtrusa
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I hardly am a blind follower. The slides were clearly labeled as to what they were measuring. maybe you should read them before spewing your usual negativity.
All the slides tell you is the source. They tell you nothing on some of the limiting factors on it.
I was not the one who brought up the stats that was clearly there for marketing/stock boosting. They choose to be very limited on their source so it inflated what the numbers looked like knowing full out in well that vast majority of the people would not catch the fact that they were leaving out huge chunks of information.
These same analysts and tech writers we're supposed to listen to were running around in 2010 saying the iPad is nothing more than a giant iPod touch. C'mon now
Yes, because posting an NPD report is leaving out huge chucks of information. For christ sake, the slide was clearly labeled retail sales. You will criticize Apple no matter what. I'm done.
Welcome to the game, Rodimus. Apple is not the first to play the game of creatively defining things for marketing purposes. Have you forgotten about the story of the guy from Dell who claimed that an iPad, keyboard, and mouse together would cost over $1500?
I know that Apple is engaging in the age-old practice of cherry-picking. But unlike you, I don't call them out on every forum because everyone does it. It's just a part of the game.
I am still trying to figure out how I criticize Apple. You are the one who took it that way. All I did was call that marketing (which lets face it that all the slides were). Marketing is well marketing. First thing you learn in marketing is "How to lie with numbers." All Apple did here was cherry pick a slide. They know most people will not see the "retail part" and you and I both know it. I was pointing out that fact that it is marketing.
I am sorry if you think because I do not worship every word Apple says as cold hard facts that I some how hate Apple. I just called it what it was and that was marketing. Nothing else. Apple is an expert at marketing. Nothing wrong with that. Marketing is marketing no matter what. Trick is understand the fact that the keynott was full of marketing.
If you noticed I have not said anything in this thread other than call it marketing. I never even talked or had anything to do with the topic on "Apple's fall from grace." On that topic I am more on a wait and see. This is not the first time nor will it be a last time Apple releases a less than stellar product. They did just fine in the past. I expect they will learn from this and I would expect something better in the future. They seem to learn before.
At the end of the day, whether it's a few percent in this direction or that direction, the trending gives a clear message: Macs are spreading, and Lion is helping. They are already over 13% US share (in fact it went from 13.2 to 13.7 in a matter of only a couple of months), for the first time in history. Give it a few more quarters - allowing for the MBA to sell in even greater numbers - and that number will only increase.
Price points for Apple gear (and by implication, non-universal licensing) are limiting factors, naturally. There is no way a product that is priced on the Premium end of the retail spectrum will achieve majority share when the competition's OS can run on any POS out there. However, it's a matter of owning all the "prestige" indicators that matter. Among them, consumer satisfaction reports, $1000+ segment share, profit, growth vs. industry growth, etc. These indicators are the ones that help build your brand and get you platinum mindshare.
I'd be very careful about any analysts who are trending against Apple, by the way. The industry and pundits at large often have a hard time conceiving and understanding what Apple themselves see as clearly as day.
Price points for Apple gear (and by implication, non-universal licensing) are limiting factors, naturally. There is no way a product that is priced on the Premium end of the retail spectrum will achieve majority share when the competition's OS can run on any POS out there. However, it's a matter of owning all the "prestige" indicators that matter. Among them, consumer satisfaction reports, $1000+ segment share, profit, growth vs. industry growth, etc. These indicators are the ones that help build your brand and get you platinum mindshare.
I'd be very careful about any analysts who are trending against Apple, by the way. The industry and pundits at large often have a hard time conceiving and understanding what Apple themselves see as clearly as day.
With the onslaught of Intel Ultrabooks - that will be the end of the MBA as a growth segment for Apple.
Macs are a growth segment for Apple, never mind just the MBA.
Where's the Ultrabook onslaught? We keep hearing about various "onslaughts" by the competition, but they never materialize enough to create problems for Apple. UFO-promises. We keep hearing about em but we never see em.
Only problem is that the MBA is an Apple product. These re-imagined Intel netbooks are nether Macs, nor do they run OS X.
Apple gear is a world apart, and as usual, Apple's numbers, satisfaction reports - all the measures that matter - will reflect that as they always have.
For starts the Asus UX21 and UX31. Then Dell will unveil theirs at CES 2012. HP is going to release one by the end of the year.
HP and Dell Ultrabook schedules leaked
Then imagine Windows 8 on an Ultrabook. Smexy.
And those Ultrabook manufacturers are begging Intel for a price break on chips.
iPod killers- still at large
iPhone killers- still at large
iPad killers- still at large
MBA killers- still at large
I think Microsoft while being laughed at right now will make a bigger splash in mobile space in the coming months.
As google repeatedly keeps losing opportunities to make their software more end user oriented and the OEMs keep riding the free google ride and introducing the "ikillers", MS seems to be concentrated on doing its thing instead and so far the results have been praised by many, even the Apple users.
Anyways its nice to know if Apple does slide we will have another sensible alternative to the free-ad based mess from google.
As google repeatedly keeps losing opportunities to make their software more end user oriented and the OEMs keep riding the free google ride and introducing the "ikillers", MS seems to be concentrated on doing its thing instead and so far the results have been praised by many, even the Apple users.
Anyways its nice to know if Apple does slide we will have another sensible alternative to the free-ad based mess from google.
Apple's supposed Fall From Grace. 
Dream On, Microserfs!
Browsing this thread, I wonder why some people feel that it's all about low, low prices. Especially after Apple keeps proving them wrong again and again..... and again!
Reminds me of Steve "Monkey Boy" Ballmer's initial reaction to the iPhone.... just a few years ago he said something like: "$500 for a phone WITH a full contract? It's the most expensive phone in the world!" He then went on to compare it to some cruddy $99 phone and bragged about how "we've sold millions of phones, Apple has sold zero".
Well, here we are just a few years later and the iPhone has been the most desirable phone around for a long time already....
People respect and desire quality. Apple exudes quality from every pore while the entire rest of the market chases low, low prices right into the grave.
Apple needs to do only one thing to prevail: Build stuff just as well as can be done. Occasional mistakes happen but a genuine commitment to quality is evident to everyone.
PC can lie all he wants and troll Mac sites 24/7 but the cat is out of the bag. Apple does things right and nobody else does.
And the truly sad part? Just like everything else in the world of PC, the "Low Prices" are as phony as the inflated performance specs. People end up paying as much or more for some MS-infested piece of junk than they would have for a decent iMac, iPhone, whatever.
PS>
If you feel that ANY Microsoft product ever made could be described as "Smexy" please continue to do so. You should tell everyone too. Especially in public or at parties. You may want to seek employment at The Microsoft Store also.
Dream On, Microserfs! Browsing this thread, I wonder why some people feel that it's all about low, low prices. Especially after Apple keeps proving them wrong again and again..... and again!
Reminds me of Steve "Monkey Boy" Ballmer's initial reaction to the iPhone.... just a few years ago he said something like: "$500 for a phone WITH a full contract? It's the most expensive phone in the world!" He then went on to compare it to some cruddy $99 phone and bragged about how "we've sold millions of phones, Apple has sold zero".
Well, here we are just a few years later and the iPhone has been the most desirable phone around for a long time already....
People respect and desire quality. Apple exudes quality from every pore while the entire rest of the market chases low, low prices right into the grave.
Apple needs to do only one thing to prevail: Build stuff just as well as can be done. Occasional mistakes happen but a genuine commitment to quality is evident to everyone.
PC can lie all he wants and troll Mac sites 24/7 but the cat is out of the bag. Apple does things right and nobody else does.
And the truly sad part? Just like everything else in the world of PC, the "Low Prices" are as phony as the inflated performance specs. People end up paying as much or more for some MS-infested piece of junk than they would have for a decent iMac, iPhone, whatever.
PS>
If you feel that ANY Microsoft product ever made could be described as "Smexy" please continue to do so. You should tell everyone too. Especially in public or at parties. You may want to seek employment at The Microsoft Store also.
What is with these articles? Most if not all companies have the grace of a hippo trying to butterfly swim.
I agree, something was OFF about the keynote. One gets the feeling that Oct 4th was the day that began the fall of Apple and the 2nd rise of MSFT.
Heard similar things from critics when the iPhone 3GS was launched. I'm not concerned. Also I'm not sure who thinks Apple's cloud services are behind Android's but iCloud has brought them up to Android leaves if not based them.
And those people saying PC makers introducing Ultrabooks is going to lead to the end of the MBA helping Apple's Mac sales grow, you're ignoring all the current trends of sales data. Will Ultrabooks perhaps slow MBA sales? Sure, but people aren't being forced in MBA while hating OS X but loving the form factor. OS X and the form factor is a selling point,and while Ultrabook may have similar form factors, I've yet to see a PC get Apple's formula 100% right.
Also if you think Mac sales are growing from MBA sales alone, you're very much mistaken.
And those people saying PC makers introducing Ultrabooks is going to lead to the end of the MBA helping Apple's Mac sales grow, you're ignoring all the current trends of sales data. Will Ultrabooks perhaps slow MBA sales? Sure, but people aren't being forced in MBA while hating OS X but loving the form factor. OS X and the form factor is a selling point,and while Ultrabook may have similar form factors, I've yet to see a PC get Apple's formula 100% right.
Also if you think Mac sales are growing from MBA sales alone, you're very much mistaken.