Apple’s strategy is the real story coming out of the Jobs keynote today and it is airborne (not that crap you take before flying that doesn’t do anything). Without doing a fanboy turn on the various gizmos and software announcements, let’s pull back and get big picture:
- There were no desktop software announcements at all. Apple is going to full browser access for everything new (iTunes is a browser, in case you didn’t realize it).
- No ethernet on the new MacBook Air. No optical drive either. Wi-fi is the new wires.
- They fixed AppleTV and took out Netflix, Blockbuster, Tivo, all the movie on demand services and most of cable in one fell swoop. And the price went down. Buy one of these for $229 and you don’t need a computer to access everything available on iTunes including movie rentals from all the major studios in HD. On that fancy HD TV you just bought. Guess there’s just one channel now: Apple.com (via iTunes)
- It’s an eco-system, stupid. They now own entertainment and multimedia on demand, they also own mobility and portability of information. And communication.
- The just grabbed the entire high-end business travel sector with a laptop that sounds like a wishlist for the roadwarrior.
Yet the stock is down 6%. Of course the NASDAQ hit its ten month low today. Citi lost $15 billion in one quarter. Apple is a strategic company- they don’t design for the next quarter’s numbers. They are after market share long term across a huge swath of tech, Internet and entertainment sectors. And don’t underestimate the business sector- we can run Windows on our Macs with no problems (except the usual panopoly of viruses, cracks, etc.).
Their market share in the computer market is estimated at 8%, up from a low of 2%. They own the laptop market. Their market cap, even with the stock way down from its recent highs, is around $155 billion which dwarfs Dell. They are superb marketers and no one does PR like them, no one.
Do I have problems with them? Not a lot as it happens. As a marketer I learn from their impossibly high standards and the best lesson is that people want really well-designed, usable stuff that doesn’t just work but is really cool.
Same goes for web sites, search marketing, domaining and everything else. Interesting day to watch the big guys.