So, What's the Deal?
It's easy to say that one main reason for the disparity in results between these two rivals is the fact that Apple remains focused and is sticking to its core competencies; Microsoft has yet to see a market it doesn't want.
Artwork: Chip TaylorMaybe what we're also seeing is an expansion, or redefinition, of just what a "personal computer" is or should be. It's not like a mass extinction of PC dinosaurs opening up a new evolutionary niche, but we could be seeing some die-off in the process. And the iPhone could be the forerunner of the new species.
Let's go back to the netbook again. It's still an ill-defined instrument, seemingly for the moment a low-power, low-powered laptop, often running a Linux distribution or a form of Windows XP. It's not a do-everything laptop -- you probably couldn't edit a digital movie very well on one -- but for most of what most people do, it's fine. You can browse the Web, write e-mails, do some word processing.
It's become a popular new product segment only through accident. Noticing your five-year-old laptop can still suffice for much of what you do isn't the same as product design. Netbooks still face the problems of how to be lightweight and compact while providing sufficient input options (no one likes undersized keyboards), displays, battery life, and so on. Ultimately, just the "same but less" formula isn't a good enough solution.
For the answer, don't look to Microsoft. It still hasn't figured this out on phones. Witness how Windows Mobile always tried to jam the Windows desktop interface into a phone's tiny screen. Just goes to show that Microsoft is stuck selling Windows, not solutions. Microsoft execs think of Windows as a hammer, and everywhere around them are nails.
Apple, instead, has played it smartly by not jumping into new markets willy-nilly. I've heard verified stories about Apple fiddling with tablet computer prototypes in labs for many years; while Microsoft did make a good product -- the OneNote -- Tablet PCs never really answered the question (outside of some niche applications) of why anyone would want a Tablet PC. Apparently, Apple couldn't answer that question either, and so never released the product. (Of course, the rumors never stop.)
(I'm not saying Apple hasn't released some half-baked products before, just that its less likely to do so on a regular basis.)
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