What now, Apple?

[NorthernChaosGod]

"Innovation, rehash the same product over and over for years."

[Del Murder]

The product had to be new at some point.

[Old Manus]

It took off because the thing was beautiful and easy to use.

Wishful thinking.

The iPhone, iPod et al were not 'better or more effective products, processes, technologies or ideas' in the electronics industry. There were already several alternatives on the market for each of them. Clever marketing on Apple's part made them more accessible to the masses and the brand became something of a fashion symbol. Steve Jobs didn't wave his magic wand and suddenly everyone in the world woke up and realised that they needed an iPhone to make calls instead of their Blackberry.

This is the crux of my argument. Jobs was an entrepreneur who knew how to tap into the public consciousness with his at first glance unremarkable products rather than an innovator of new technology.

[Del Murder]

You're wrong about that one. Even now with time to catch up, there really isn't a tablet that compares to the power of the iPad. When it first came out, it was far more effective than any tablet out there.

As for iPhone, there are a lot more options, but I don't recall a touch-screen phone that was as useful and sleek as the iPhone.

These products set the standard for the industry and continue to be the metric to which similar products are compared. That's more than just good marketing there. Consider that the announcement of iPad was laughed at by many for the name and for it being an 'oversized iPhone'. If it really was crap then no amount of marketing could have saved it from bombing. But it is now one of the most successful products in the world, due in large part to marketing sure, but also due to its innovation, design, and usefulness.

[Iceglow]

First of all, it's been a few days and whilst I may have gotten told "too soon" for cracking this one off on the day of Steve Jobs' death, here's a joke:

Apple announced that Steve Jobs designed one last line for them before his untimely demise. A new range of clothing called "iDyed" (now read that out loud)


Secondly to touch on a couple of points made by Del:

You're wrong about that one. Even now with time to catch up, there really isn't a tablet that compares to the power of the iPad. When it first came out, it was far more effective than any tablet out there.

As for iPhone, there are a lot more options, but I don't recall a touch-screen phone that was as useful and sleek as the iPhone.

Ok Tablets, fun times. Apparently, according to the company I work for and Acer, Asus, Motorola and Apple I'm a tablet expert something I'm not too sure about but hey, they tell me so I must be right? iPad 1, whilst the tablet PC had not been a new thing, sure in this instance the IOS, the app's and the feel of the tablet was pretty ahead of the pack. Possibly because until Windows 7 (optimized for touch screen too according to Microsoft) tablet PC's lacked the functionality to work with touch screens and a tablet PC with a keyboard is in existence, it's called a laptop and no one can deny, the laptop is hugely successful and better than an iPad. However the iPad lacked certain functionality. For example: it had no USB port to provide easy compatibility to existing office machines. The device lacked Flash and still does in the iPad 2, the device was technically limited and from an office workers perspective the apps out there simply do not cut the mustard. In regards to the iPhone, and iPod Touch which already existed on the market, the iPad was simply a gimmick, a larger version of the iPod Touch 3rd generation. So what about the iPad 2? Well it's smaller, faster and has camera's on the front and back just like an iPod Touch 4th Generation. Oh wait what about updates to the software? Sure the IOS has been tweaked and tweaked again to make the IOS ever better (which is a good thing and in terms of operating system, IOS is still ahead of the pack with IOS 5 though not by much when compared to Android 3.0) Unfortunately for Apple and for consumers, the iPad 2 still uses the exact same apps as the iPad which means for the exact same reasons the programs do not cut the mustard with professionals. Though the option of 3G does mean that the iPad 2 as an entertainment device is awesome.

So what about the iPad's rivals what is there imho what can compete? Well it's quite simple for the professionals out there who require or demand a fully working kit for their work on the go, there's the Acer W500 windows 7 tablet. It works pretty well though I would definitely insist on upgrading the Mcafee pre-installed as because it is a Windows 7 box, you're going to need it and the pre-installed software is optimized for it. Second of all, there is USB support which is awesome but no 3G model as of yet. With 3.0 honeycomb installed it'd be pretty cool. Though personally I'd wait for a more tablet orientated version of Windows to come out, Windows 8 isn't far away and is optimized from the ground up to work on a touch screen tablet.

For the Android alternatives? The Asus EEE Transformer is the best thing out there really. 16 hours of battery with flash leaves the iPad gasping for air before long, it's amazing and the tablet is cheating, it has 2 batteries but if you feel the tablet and look at it, the EEE Transformer is lighter than an iPad 1 and yet no bigger, now that's innovation. Android 3.0 Honeycomb is simply put breathtaking. Apps still need a long way to go but the beauty of the Android marketplace is that 70% of the apps are free and the user has the full range of customization they require from the ground up to tweak everything to get the best set up for them, something impossible on the iPad 2. It also has SD expandable memory (or micro SD but meh whichever) something which is whilst a cop-out in some regards is more useful than the iPad's sealed memory, the memory of the EEE can be filled completely and yet you can simply expand it by changing SD card. A USB slot and an attachable keyboard dock along with the excellent screen of this dock and it's competitive pricing (around £400 an iPad 2 wi-fi only 16gb is £399.99) mean this is a serious contender.

Smaller than the Apple's 10.1" screen is the Acer A100 an android 3.0 Honeycomb 7" tablet, it's brilliant, perfectly sized to fit in a pocket the great quality screen and the responsive controls mean this is far more than a pocket sized e-reader alternative. Though it can of course become one. Really this needs 3G though.

As for the iPhone? Well aside from the obvious Samsung Galaxy and Galaxy S2 (which are essentially a direct rip-off of the Apple iPhone with a different name and Android installed) You could look no further than the range of HTC phones from the Desire upwards, these phones are sharp, responsive, in fact I'd argue that the screen and gyro sensors are MORE sensitive than that of an iPod Touch or iPhone. This can be tested since AR Drones come with an Android app now. The customization options of Android again shine through though it is clear no matter what you do, the iPhone will always provide the better music playing device. A pity though that the entire back panel seals in the battery so if the battery begins to quicken in it's progression from charged to empty the only repair man or replacement park is to go to the same store

[NorthernChaosGod]

I almost read all of that.

[Jiro]

I read the bit where he said "I'll touch on a couple points made by Del" then reread the bit where he said "I'll touch on" and then spent an hour scrolling to your post.

Sorry brah

[CimminyCricket]

I read it xD

The intro to ITT class I'm taking is basically his post for an hour and then the last 2 and a half are so more stuff about how awesome cloud is and some other trout.

[Shiny]

...would Bill Gates, a man who achieved just as much in the field of IT, be getting the same response?

Yeah, probably.

[Loony BoB]

I can see both points of view and would settle somewhere in the middle by listing off what I think Steve is - er, was. =/

Steve was a fantastic businessman, and I do mean fantastic. The stuff he did with Apple was immense. He has a very good understanding for marketing and, with his intelligent charisma combined with the pre-mentioned business mind, innovated in areas that others in the technology business to this day are still catching up in and may be for some time.

Fast? No. Reliable? No. Powerful? No. These are all things which other companies have managed to put into their computer devices for some time. This is not where Apple opts to invent. Actually, it can be said that Apple is still catching up to other devices released long before their Apple counterparts in all three of these areas.

Steve Jobs - and credit must also be given to his marketing team who I can only assume he was heavily involved in - innovated in hype and fashion. They took products that were useful but considered vaguely geeky and turned them into things that people who were not normally into technology would want. While doing this, he did not exclude the 'standard' target audience, either. He was a master of product promotion to the point that long before an item was released, everyone knew about it and a massive number of people wanted it. He was like the technology equivalent of a producer of Pop Idol and X-Factor. In these shows, an individual is paraded in front of people for weeks if not months before they release a single, and that single will likely be a number one hit. Steve does the same thing with products in a way that no other that I can think of has ever done before - well, not successfully, anyway!

I don't know much about his actual inventions. I don't know much about how savvy he is with circuitry. But to my knowledge he has always been the businessman rather than the inventor. I could be wrong, though. I don't know if I would call him a great inventor because of that.

I would definitely call him a great innovator, but not because iPods and iPads are amazing products so much as because he can market a modern technology product to the wider population like no other businessman in history. He can make people want his product despite it being inferior to other products at the same price. He can make people parade his product like a girl shows off her engagement ring. This can even make some other people feel bad for not having his product. Incredible.

I agree with Manus that some things being attributed to him are extremely generous. I also agree with Miriel/Murd that some of the things he has done are incredible and highly innovative. I would not say his products are highly innovative... at least, not the iPod and iPad. This should not be seen as an insult to Steve Jobs, though. This actually makes his achievements all the more incredible.