News: Why Macworld ‘08 won’t shock the worldPosted on Tuesday, January 15 @ 16:58:55 GMT |
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 With Macworld approaching, the pundits are out in full force with their predictions; A 3G iPhone, an ultra slim Macbook, a tablet with touch technology, iTunes movie rentals. And at the same time, analysts are putting in their 2 cents, expressing concerns that Apple won’t be able to top last years iPhone announcement. Some are even boldy proclaiming that the Mac faithful should be preparing for a Macworld letdown this year. And what do all of these journalists, gabbers, bloggers, and fan-boys have in common?
Apple’s Success Over The Years
The reason Apple has been so successful over the past few years is that it has adopted a strategy of releasing advanced and innovative products that it slowly but surely adds value to. Introducing a product that instantly becomes a smash hit, such as the iPhone, is not what typically happens at Macworld, and a look back at some of Apple’s more successful products shows that slow and steady does in fact win the race.
Even when Apple introduced the iPod in 2001, critics and users yawned at the prospect of yet another expensive MP3 player on the market. Even Apple fanboys expressed ambivalence about the iPod. But Apple methodically tweaked the user interface. It came out with new models, it increased capacity, it increased battery life, it added photos, and the list goes on and on. Then in 2003, it launched the iTunes music store which, at the time, only housed a meager 200,000 songs. By 2004, however, three years after the initial release of the iPod, Apple’s white earbuds were everywhere. And that my friends, is how Apple works. It doesn’t go for the hail-mary on first and 10. Instead, it slowly and methodically marches down the field, continuously improving and upgrading its product line.
This strategy can also be seen in the context of Mac OS X. Instead of releasing one mammoth update every 4 years, Apple has been continuously releasing new versions of its OS at an average interval of 1.5 years. When the initial OSX came out there wasn’t much there to drool over. But by continuously enhancing and adding intuitive features, Mac OS X has evolved into a solid and advanced OS, as evidenced by Leopard. Similar incremental improvements can be seen across its product line from its iLife software suite to its iMac computer models. With this in mind, predicting the future success of Apple based on one Macworld Expo is completely shortsighted as Apple understands that game changing software and hardware isn’t created overnight. Is it any surprise that companies who introduce “revolutionary” products that were seemingly engineered and pushed out the door in three months never make a blip on the technology radar?
Expectations are high, maybe a bit too high
Critics and fan-boys should not feel let down if Apple doesn’t bring down the house this week. Instead, they should be excited about some new announcements and products that may not necessarily be game changing in and of themselves, but are part of a larger plan that will fundamentally improve the way we all use computers and technology. Undoubtedly, whatever Steve Jobs happens to announce at Macworld will come under scrutiny by those who might criticize the specs or price of new products, or the rationale of whatever business deal is announced. This criticism, however, is often levied by those who can’t see down the field 100 yards.
As Macworld approaches, don’t expect a new tablet device with touch screen capabilities that will to turn wine into water, but rather some new business initiatives that will push the envelope, along with product upgrades and introductions that when looked at from a distance, are part of a larger plan that can in fact revolutionize the way we use technology. That is reason enough to get excited.
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Posted on Tuesday, January 15 @ 16:58:55 GMT |
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