The top of the smartphone heap is certainly slippery and narrow! Ask, Motorola who led at one time, then maybe a little of LG and early Samsung, then HTC. Now Apple and Samsung are holding onto their places. Why do companies fall? Is it because they stop innovating, or stop advertising or totally miss their targets? Sammy, especially, is continuing to pound with new models every 10 minutes backed up with massive advertising. Apple is taking their time, hoping that brand loyalty will make up for their glacial pace in new smartphone development. It will be interesting to see if the HTC's, the LG's, and the Motorola's and Nokia's of this world continue to be produced. By the way, when is the funeral service for Blackberry?
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The art of staying on top
- Thread starter jimbo1mcm
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Apple hit three important points with the older iPhone models. The software was miles better than the competition, the hardware and ease of use was lightyears away from the crap Nokia etc were making.
Now the specs game is largely irrelevant. All the top tier phones perform pretty much the same. You can't wow people by adding higher resolutions or more processing power as any flagship smartphone already has a high resolution and is fast. Flagship phones all have a good design to them too.
So now it's a software game and as it is, Android is leading. Apple seems to be presenting no real innovation with iOS 7. But at the same time Samsung is bloating the Android platform with features that while clever, are bad for battery life and also not useful beyond the initial "well that's neat" reaction.
The next one to get on top is the one that can improve their chosen software platform with things that people feel will truly make their smartphone experience better.
Now the specs game is largely irrelevant. All the top tier phones perform pretty much the same. You can't wow people by adding higher resolutions or more processing power as any flagship smartphone already has a high resolution and is fast. Flagship phones all have a good design to them too.
So now it's a software game and as it is, Android is leading. Apple seems to be presenting no real innovation with iOS 7. But at the same time Samsung is bloating the Android platform with features that while clever, are bad for battery life and also not useful beyond the initial "well that's neat" reaction.
The next one to get on top is the one that can improve their chosen software platform with things that people feel will truly make their smartphone experience better.
I am sure you'll be opening a can of worms here, but I agree. Especially with Blackberry - they cannot die quick enough for all I care.
Whoops I thought this was going to be about something else... silly me
Funny, me too
The difference is though - with Android, you can easily apply a different ROM, adding or removing features you do or don't need / want.
Battery life is a minefield as it depends on how you use your phone. My wife hates her iPhone because of battery life, loves the S4 mini because of the battery life - I have pretty sh** battery life on my S4 because I a watch movies on full brightness ...
I had all iPhones since its original release and I would probably still be annoyed about Apple forcing me to have the stupid "Stocks" app, which I doubt will change on IOS 7..
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I wonder why Alternatives to iOS and iOS Devices has 2800 threads if all of them end up in "who stole what from whom" anyway, may as well just have one "Bashing" thread and get done with it lol ...
Whoops I thought this was going to be about something else... silly me
LOL
To the OP, nothing last forever and eventually everyone gets dethroned. Some of the reasons are due to complacency and you could add playing it safe as well as arrogance thinking your product is SO good it's unbeatable.
It usually happens to every company who leads their given industry. You have to be nimble enough as a company to be quick footed and able to quickly react to your competition and consumer demand.
IBM learned the hard way that change is necessary. Sony also learned that no matter how well you dominate the videogame market there is always a competitor who thinks they can offer a better overall product. The Playstation 2 destroyed the videogame market and Sony thought the Playstation 3 would do the same. Microsoft as well as Nintendo were both ready to counter that. Their Hubris did not help matters for Sony. So now they are in the position of looking up at their competition.
I think Apple it has been all about doing what they know works. The iPhone has sold so many units over the years they feel like they do not need to change to make customers happy. Apple to this point have not has to change anything, but the key is that they have not had to. The problem is even if you don't have to it does not mean you should not. Apple set the standard so high that is has taken the android this long to reach their level if not pass it. Apple may have waited a bit too change.
Android is on the other side of the coin. They got a late start, but just like Microsoft with the Xbox. They saw what Apple was doing, and tried to prefect it. Each year companies like Samsung add new features, and see what customers like. Apple would rather just put what works, and not worry about the new features until they are perfect. Apple like so many other companies may soon find out that they waited just a bit too long to try and change things. It has happened to the best of them, and Apple is no exception. Now I am not saying they are doomed yet, but it does seem that a lot of people are saying it is too late for to try and make changes.
Android is on the other side of the coin. They got a late start, but just like Microsoft with the Xbox. They saw what Apple was doing, and tried to prefect it. Each year companies like Samsung add new features, and see what customers like. Apple would rather just put what works, and not worry about the new features until they are perfect. Apple like so many other companies may soon find out that they waited just a bit too long to try and change things. It has happened to the best of them, and Apple is no exception. Now I am not saying they are doomed yet, but it does seem that a lot of people are saying it is too late for to try and make changes.
Yes and this is why I moved to Android recently, though I can't be bothered with installing different ROMs yet.
Just now I was a bit miffed by how crappy the Samsung keyboard is on my S4 and tried a few, eventually settling on Swiftkey as it is so far the only thing that seems to be able to cope with auto-predicting Finnish with its gazillion inflections and slang. Highly impressed by this feat and on iOS you just wouldn't see it without jailbreaking.
The art of staying on top
is to make the consumer your bi**h, with clever marketing and buzz words.
is to make the consumer your bi**h, with clever marketing and buzz words.
Often the company that leads and has for some time, becomes complacent and fails to realize it. What concerns me about Apple, especially since I don't want them to slip back, is their total obsession with legal battles.
I don't care how big and well capitalized they are, the way they're acting at the present is just not cutting it, even if they win every war they start, or their competitors start.
Trying to maintain both a positive and negative focus creates chaos no matter how they justify what they're doing. Plus this is a relatively new tactic. Past performance always focused on world class products. That's what resulted in the hoards of cash and revenue they enjoy today.
Yet if they keep up the laser like focus on their seek & destroy missions it will cost them. Sooner or later the hammer will fall.
I don't care how big and well capitalized they are, the way they're acting at the present is just not cutting it, even if they win every war they start, or their competitors start.
Trying to maintain both a positive and negative focus creates chaos no matter how they justify what they're doing. Plus this is a relatively new tactic. Past performance always focused on world class products. That's what resulted in the hoards of cash and revenue they enjoy today.
Yet if they keep up the laser like focus on their seek & destroy missions it will cost them. Sooner or later the hammer will fall.
Part of the perceived "problem" with staying on top is not on the company releasing the products, but the fickle tastes of the consumer. Typically a person signs a 2 year agreement with a phone company to keep their phone for the contract term length. Now, with phones being released every 2-3 months from competitors with minimal improvements on the other, consumers want to keep up with the Jones' and have the latest and greatest earlier than their signed contract allows for....so as such, we are fickle and impatient...hence the recent backlash on Apple.
They are damned if they do and damned if they don't...they DID release a refreshed iPad 4 just over 6 months after the 3 and people cried foul. But now they've gone a year between iPads and the same fan base is saying its too long and they can't innovate. It is a tough sell all around!
They are damned if they do and damned if they don't...they DID release a refreshed iPad 4 just over 6 months after the 3 and people cried foul. But now they've gone a year between iPads and the same fan base is saying its too long and they can't innovate. It is a tough sell all around!
Whoops I thought this was going to be about something else... silly me
I know! I was thinking Rodeo too.