Once again I am watching analysts “underwhelmed” by a company that has taken another step towards overwhelming the consumer market and owning a platform of the future that could potentially be the greatest in consumer product history.
Apple’s “Let’s Rock” event, was simply a series of great music products for Christmas…that will keep their large market share. It was also an introduction to what is “hands down” the best hand held game machine around. So say the kids that have tried it. But this hand held game machine is not a hand held game machine, besides that market is already owned by Nintendo, its just really a high end music player and though the new features are great, price should have gone down. So say the analysts.
Oh, and iTunes, new features like “genius”, well, even I, newly initiated fan boy I am, had to yawn at that. At first.
We all, even non fan boys, will admit Apple is doing great today, their Mac is increasing its “PC market” share, the iPhone is a hit with consumers, the Apple stores both online and in the malls are doing fantastic.
But analysts say they are underwhelmed. Not just that, they are worried, because Jobs, the man who somehow does these magic tricks that make consumers want to buy, is not looking healthy.
This is all BS, and I think I agree with Jobs who just suggested that maybe some analysts have ulterior motives implying his imminent death. Maybe they also have others motives for acting so stupidly underwhelmed while Apple begins its domination on another consumer front. Or maybe they are just stupid.
Now, Apple is not going to say, not going to spell it out to everyone the overall strategy of dominating all consumer devices that have a user interface. But I am telling you, somebody, some group of individuals, in that company is (mostly has already) developing a platform roadmap that many of us have been anticipating for eons since the Personal Computer big bang. Which, BTW, Apple innovated and participated in, but did not own. That ownership title went to Microsoft as we all know.
Jobs sees it again, as he saw it then, because he has that vision. Gates too, but back then kept a lid on it to actually sell products in the present time, to establish or eat up partners, to borrow and embrace what Apple and others were innovating, …as he underwhelmed the analysts and projectioneers to market domination.
Both Jobs and Gates never cared much about stock holders and analysts, they care about consumers, or to be more precise, customers. But back in the PC days Jobs would have spelled out the vision, and would have put more energy trying to explain it. He’s not doing that now, at least not as much publicly. He’s not going to spell it out for the competition. He is not going to spell it out for the consumer and confuse them with what they can buy today.
Now, what is that vision? I am not going to spell it out either. Not now anyway. A lot of us (and there are a lot of visionaries) have learned being a visionary means nothing without implementation and execution. We have all heard the expression,
“there are some who need to believe in it to see, some who need to see it to believe in it.”
I will add that also often in history those people that tried to explain and convert people to see and believe in invisible things were burned at the stake.
But now, its pretty clear well down the path, and anyone with a salt of understanding can look at the development kits and marketing trajectories and see it. Microsoft knows, but this time they are too late. So when they announce their grandiose new platform (I am betting in the next 6 months) unlike the Windows master plan, this will be way too late.
Jobs must be bored now, the road is paved, though I am sure he will enjoy the ride knowing he will own it this time unlike the last time.
