Apple is doing something right because every other company, including Microsoft and Sony, is laying folks off but Apple is paving the halls with gold. Didja hear? Apple made $10 billion last year and their simple product line is the key. Look at it. There really aren’t that many products: One cellphone, four iPods, three notebooks, and three desktop computers. Now look at HP’s, Dell’s, or even Garmin and TomTom’s product lines. Apple does something different and hopefully others are taking notes.
Apple has a history of finding niche markets and making products to fill that void. However, slowly after Steve-O took over, the product lines condensed into distinct segments geared for a different buyer. You want a basic Macintosh computer? Buy the Mini. The iMac is available for all-in-one solutions and the Mac Pro is truly for the professional. The same thing follows into the notebook and iPod realms showing vastly different strategy than other companies.
Garmin makes 82 GPS units that can be mounted in a car or carried in your hand. 82!?! That’s a lot and includes 27 designed specifically for the car. If Apple made a GPS, there would be two models available – maybe only one. Apple would shove everything they could into this one GPS and sell it at a profit instead of making similar different models that feature slightly different specs.
Take the Garmin nuvi 755T and nuvi 765T. There is a $100 price difference between those two models and the only difference is that the $499 755T lacks the Bluetooth capability of the $599 765T. Is Garmin saying the Bluetooth module costs $100?. This isn’t just pick-on-Garmin day, the same practice exists all around the consumer electronic landscape.
Canon is selling 23 point-n-shoot cameras in four product lines; Nikon 17 in three. Monster Cable HDMI cables in ten distinct product lines and Motorola is showing 27 cell phones available on their website. Apple makes one cellphone and sold 88% more this year than the company did last.
Consumers hate choices. They say they love them, but have you ever stood in front of a wall of plasmas and LCDs with a random person? I have and did for years at Circuit City. They get overwhelmed by the amount of options, but Apple has made it easy but producing top-notch products that are easily available. The iPhone at Wal-Mart makes sense as it doesn’t require a salesman to sell the hottest phone on the market.
Listen, I wouldn’t label myself a fanboy nor do I work exclusively on a Mac. My only iPod is a first-gen Mini that came free with my iBook G4 and I have only played with the iPhone a few times. I do, however, respect Apple greatly for keeping the product line simple. Now, if only other companies would follow suit and trim their fat, the profits would probably follow.
Sony in particular would be very well positioned to take this approach (as they are already somewhat of a premium brand), if only they would listen.
I like Apple’s simple product lineup, they’re not afraid of being a little polarizing compared to other brands. To be honest, Apple has a lot of common sense, which is very hard to build something on, but they make things they way they should have been made the first time, with cell phones being the best example.
Leo, in regards to your comment, from what I’ve seen, Sony has a better name outside the US than they do within it. I could be very wrong on this because of my own personal opinion, but while they could benefit, I’m not sure if I see them as a premium brand myself.
Now, if we could only get Apple to make toothpaste!
if you do I compose, certainly!
smile for you …
Early Happy B-day Mac!!! Turns 25 tomorrow!!! yea…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7846575.stm
LOL i wonder what flavor it would be?
-Jim
http://www.moviesonlineforum.com/
(just getting started so check it out)
Years ago, I bought a Saab turbo, because the only choices I had were stick or automatic and the color.
But the real winner is Saab… not because they took away choices (you chose Saab over BMW or Audi) but reduced their manufacturing line options. (The real way to win the bottom line war)
If Garmin has 82 different models then they have 82 different manufacturing runs (yes they can be incorporated in the same line but for this argument…) Reduce the runs and you reduce your overhead (run set ups, manufacturing instructions, writing the different manuals, additional web pages, etc…) which means you need fewer industrial/manufacturing engineers.
Choice isn’t the issue… Reference the old Woody Allen film (Sleeper?) where all the cars in the future are the same – would this be good because there would be no choice? It all about the bottom line and if you are running a fat manufacturing line…
Matt, you’re dead on. The average consumer gets all flustered by too many choices.
But in the defense of the companies, they’re trying to capitalize on the entire consumer market; low end, mid and high end. It ultimately comes down to how well you meet the needs. Most consumers are looking for value for money!
Anyway, I’d vote for you as the new CEO of Sony! Maybe you can help them with their Bravia issue – every TV is a Bravia.
I agree with the “defense of companies” part. I think part of the appeal of Apple is that there aren’t too many companies that have such product lines. If everyone had a simplified product line and no customization options then the whole economics would reverse and the more “specialized” computers would cost much more… as they should be.
Is it not weird that customized products with all the features you want and none that you don’t want are seen as the “inferior” product here? I know that a lot of it has to do with Apple’s design and overall quality, but it’s just a funny thought.
I really wish that Apple WOULD have some more options. I’m attracted to Apple not because of the simplicity of choices, but because their products are awesome. And they would be even more awesome if we could get an HDMI port on the Macbooks, or get the 2.0ghz macbook with a blacklit keyboard.
Its crazy to think that if you want a macbook with a backlit keyboard you’ll have to shell out hundreds of dollars more for the 2.4ghz processor which you may not even want. Can you say DEALBREAKER?
The key to Apple is that they make the software and the hardware of their products. This makes their products run smoothly and worth the extra money that you have to pay for them. Superior quality that is also functional and has a cool factor. Go Apple!
It helps that Apple can define their markets. I guarantee you, the Mac Pro is not everyone’s idea of a pro-level computer. I’m sure there are people that want more functionality than Apple offers. However, because they’re the only ones making computers with OS X, they can define that “pro” computer, and anyone who doesn’t like it but wants OS X doesn’t have anyone else to buy a computer from. So they buy the mac pro anyway.
That’s why HP or Dell couldn’t do it. (Well they could, and they’d probably be able to survive, but they wouldn’t make the billions Apple’s making) There’s always somewhere else to buy a windows computer.
It’s pretty darn brilliant.
Another round of “Apple Kool-aid” for you all?
I hope that rotten and over-used cliche meets its long-overdue death sometime soon.
It seems any article about a ‘pop’ brand, however intelligently written, always gets flamed by someone brandishing the tedious ‘Kool Aid’ line.
Maybe, just maybe, the person who wrote the article had something interesting to say. But no, you see ‘Apple’ in the headline and you can’t wait to be the first person to say “Kool Aid”.
Ah well. Your loss.
To sit back and pretend that Apple is a somewhat lucky, about average IT company, as a lot of these “Kool-Aid” complaints imply, has always been absurd. But these days, when they’re one of the extremely few major players increasing their profits in the most challenging economic environment in a generation and quickly dominating a critical emerging platform (the smartphone)… who’s drinking the Kool-Aid, really? The “Hater-aid” flavor, perhaps?
Gotta agree with the posts above. It’s almost getting trendy to knock Apple now – if you read the comments on Engadget then anyone expressing any kind of pro-Apple opinion gets modded down straight away, regardless of what they say.
I know there has been a lot of rather annoying Apple fanboyism in the past, but effectively telling people they’re naive and deluded because their opinion doesn’t fit well with your own is just puerile. These childish ‘my platform is better than yours’ arguments have been going on since the days of SNES vs. Megadrive. It bores the sh*t out of me.
Hey… welcome to “having successful products”, Apple — you get knocked around a bit. That’s life.
And yes… I do believe that most of you Apple-fans drink the Steve Jobs Kool-Aid. It’s not cliche, it’s fan-boyism.
Oops? Did I say that?
I don’t even own any Apple products, but how can you ignore those figures during a severe recession? Most companies are struggling, but Apple has grown. It’s ignorant to cast this as anything less than extraordinary.
Yipcanjo you sound bitter. It must take a lot of energy expending all your time on Apple hate. Get a life and enjoy whatever koolaid you’re drinking.
As for the article, Apple is definitely got a good model going.
Kudos Crunch! {seesmic_video:{”url_thumbnail”:{”value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/92QhgO9OkE_th1.jpg”}”title”:{”value”:”Kudos Crunch! ”}”videoUri”:{”value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/oGnCOJtUU4″}}}
The Paradox of Choice, less choice can lead to more happiness:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6127548813950043200
Excellent video. Makes you rethink your offerings as a business and how you buy as a consumer.
Yes… The Paradox of Choice!! You hit the nail on the head.
Even Apple’s naming convention is simple “iMac” and “MacBook Pro” and “iPod nano.”
The “Garmin nuvi 755T” does not have a descriptive name at all. What a terrible name for a product! I’ve never understood why companies make their product lines so cryptic. I guess you have to have cryptic names when you offer hundreds of products!!
I would agree with Matt’s statement, that consumers hate making decisons. In regards to Apple you have to consider their brand equity. Even with this consideration, its still not as simple as he’s imlpying. As an employee of one the above mentioned companies, I’d diagnose our problem as focusing too much on the demands of the retail channel (exclusive deals) and believing that product development is based on features rather than utility.
Over the next 12 months as all electroincs companies feel the squeeze it will be interesting to watch Apple’s strategy.
What a dumb article! You say we should abolish choice and competition just because a company did it successfully? Apple has chosen to market its overpriced products excessively and created a ‘luxury’ (that is, crafted with detail, targeted at the few) icon of itself. It’s like a jewelry firm deciding to do only gold jewels – their market share is bounded on top. Even the ‘no diversity in product lines’ choice is a marketing strategy: users don’t have the option to buy cheap from apple.
Do you think we need another Apple? If there was another apple in the market they would have to both split their market shares in half. I don’t think many companies are ready to give up the rest of the market then. Of course, with all those patents locked by apple, it’s impossible to create a second apple
choice for the win
Why do people keep complaining that Apple overcharges still? It may or may not have been true at one point, but if you look at equally spec’ed computers from other companies, you’ll find that they cost within the same ball park.
Heck, Sony’s will usually cost *more*.
He’s not saying that we should abolish competition either. It’s not about competition with other companies, it’s about simplifying their lineup so it’s more understandable for consumers. Don’t bother asking geeks about this (and I say that AS a geek myself), pay attention to the average consumer. Ask anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time working retail in an electronics store doing full service sales, and they’ll agree with me.
Many consumers get confused, as most know absolutely nothing about the internals. They just want something that *works*.
In my opinion, the simple answer is for computer companies to develop two lines – a simple consumer friendly line, and a high end line for professionals. Give the average person three to five computers which work well, and he or she will be happy.
Trust me.
“Simply” put, because they do. To get a macbook comparable to my Dell it would costs me over $2000.. my Dell cost me $499. Why on earth would I pay 4x as much for a laptop that not only has a crappy OS that my software won’t work on, but also doesn’t have as many hardware options for me to customize? I’ll take my HDMI port, built-in card reader, bluetooth, wifi, etc. over a useless “multi-touch” touchpad any day.
The bottom line is Apple users pay more money for fewer choices and fewer choices is ALWAYS bad for the consumer.
What I’d like to know is why the Windows fanboys are so fearful of Apple? Everytime there is an article about Apple pointing out the postives, the Windows Boys get totally defensive. What are you guys afraid of? Competition? Envy? What’s with all the hate?
@Arnold: the problem Thomas (and other Winboyz) has with Apple is that he’s dying for you to know how he’s not a sucker like you. He has an urge to share with you the heroic tale of his figuring out the most super-customized awesome Dell setup.
Winboyz are bean counting asperger-afflicted gearheads. What they fail to notice is that nobody cares about how clever they were for coming up with the best possible Dell machine EVERRR. The rest of us intuitively appreciate elegant design because we want stuff to simply work. We don’t care to know what acronyms like HDMI are, we don’t use a card reader. We want something to simply work out of the box, and to identify which class of computer we want.
While a winboy has his head crammed full of acronyms and endlessly fusses about the perfect spec, most want simplicity. And as this article points out, Apple has realized this, and mastered the approach.
“We don’t care to know what acronyms like HDMI are, we don’t use a card reader.”
What *do* you use in place of a card reader? Your mind?
Riiiiiiight.
Do you even know what card reader is?
Do you even care, are you too busy showing the rest of us what a technological connoisseur you are – at the expense of sounding unenlightened at best, and like a technologically uneducated clod at worst?
“Card? What card? Just stick it in the computer…don’t computers just read cards?”
I suppose you haven’t learned to use a microwave, either -the stove and oven are so much more well-made so why bother?
Toilets? The outhouse still works, and offers more privacy, and is much more structurally sound than modern plumbing, having had it’s last repair fifty years ago…
You are the stuff that my most sarcastically rant-y dreams are made of. I could build an entire blog around you. Hey – you know what… I think I will!
And to think I was kind of on the side of all the hapless Mac fanboys until I read that you “can’t be bothered” to *learn* – the most important thing you can ever do in life, apply yourself, *learn* – what HDMI is, nor do you use a card reader -*sniff* [implication that you are *too good to be bothered*] – what a stuck-up ignoramus.
You Mac fanboys deserve the reputation for blind drooling stupidity that clings to each and every one of you.
“Hi. I’m a PC.”
“And I’m an idiot posing as a stuck-up, snotty, high-end computing solution. How can I blow my rep again today?”
I bet you still use AOL, too. Duh.
Card readers in most machines is a classic example of choice gone wrong. Do I need 4 different slots covering every format known to man?
Or can I simply, as most do these days, plug in my USB 2.0-enabled camera?
Or if needed, get a USB or ExpressCard reader for the type or types that I need?
Which you’re going to need as well, when then NEXT new card format arrives (SDXC) and obsoletes all of those little holes in your computer.
I understand the argument you’re presenting. I’m just railing at the willful ignorance of the snob I replied to. “I don’t use a card reader” has to be the Mactard Quote of the year given the overall idiotic context it was given in.
*sniff* “I’m too good to use a PC” *sniff*
Dude …Apple overcharges, definitely. Buy the same iPod from the actual manufacturer at 1/10th price. Visit china, and get your facts straigthened out. Thr is no point swearing by apple and lowering the rest of the industry just because you like and can afford to pay brand apple.
Dear lord are you a tool…
simple is smart, is true!
the others is suck…
Hi,
That ’s why .Net is an easy sell against a java solution and 100 frameworks/options. Or window vs 100 linux distros.
A very good point. A simple product line does make perfect sense and more companies than Apple is doing this. But very few companies have done to their entire product line.
Do I hear… Windfall profits tax?
This is obscene profit.
Most importantly Apple has a soul, it is made by people for people!
Dells are made by aliens in mars
Apple knows how to do what they do right
There’s only one iPhone but there are 10,000 iPhone Apps. So it is not a matter of limiting choice. The difference between what Apple does is that they think of their products as platforms. You choose a player, a computer, a communications device- then you choose what you want to use it for and configure it accordingly. I don’t need ten different cameras, I need one I can customize and upgrade. That’s how Apple thinks.
Bang on.
Would also help if the author could count. He says that there are three notebooks, but there’s the 13″ plastic MB, the 13″ AL MB, the 15 and 17″ AL MBPs, and the Air.
Five by my count, not including a couple of prebuilt processor/ram/hd combos for each. And then you can always BTO…
You’re totally right.
Plus, the User Experience.
Nokia has the exact same problem as Garmin. Too many sku’s which creates product fragmentation. And too many market niches is a nightmare for developers who can’t afford to test and deploy their apps to a dozen or more phones. It’s easy with Apple since there’s just one.
If only they kept their products more up to date.. Mac mini, imac, I’m looking at you!
If by “simple” you mean lacking the majority of features that it’s competitors have while still charging double or triple the price… then yes Apple is keeping it simple across all of it’s product lines.
I think “simple” really refers to the minds of people who actually buy their crap.
Sure… get a simple product line & double the price. Ain’t that simple?
“Didja hear? Apple made $10 billion last year and their simple product line is the key.”
I know we’re being casual here, but let’s not exaggerate the numbers. Last Quarter (FY09Q1, which ended Dec 27-2008), Apple _sold_ $10.17 Billion, and had net income of $1.61 Billion. I would not think that revenue = money made.
Also, there’s the little factor of Quarters vs. Year. If we’re assuming that revenue = money made, then Apple “made” 32 Billion as of FY08.
Oh, and yes – the rest of the post is right on, simple is better. Of course, as a consumer, I do love choice, but if I were a consumer electronics company, I would do my best to limit the choice of the consumers and make them fit into premium products. Purely for saving the advertising and production costs, you would think this would be a no brainer.
Yeah, ditto on this point. That’s actually why I read the whole piece, to see if you added a correction. Define “made” for that to make sense.
A simple product line is great, but for many products, it is not so simple.
Take the iPod as an example. While the average US consumer may not think too much about paying $99 or more for it, in the developing world, that is a lot of money. Thus, the low cost MP3 players have a lot of appeal there. Same with mobile phones, and same with Computers.
So, Nokia needs to have more than a few phone lines, because what is “cheap” in the US is not so cheap in India and Bangladesh.
Having said that, Nokia and Sony may want to cut down on the number of models that they introduce. Look at GM – the large numbers of car and truck may have been one factor in their decline.
Aren’t we forgetting something? Sure Apple is posting nice big numbers now and is in a stable area but those big numbers weren’t there for a very long time. Yeah companies might be cutting back but they had so much going on and were making so much bank up until now. Regardless of them doing something right, they basically didn’t make profits until they released the iPod.
All Apple has done is found a niche market they can exploit and keep making money off. Isn’t that what every highly successful business has done? I mean seriously, they made big money this year because every Mac addict had to go buy a new laptop AND a new iPod. I know over a handful of people who buy the newest macbook pro every release.
In my opinion, this is also killing the US automakers. Too many product lines, too many options consumers don’t care about. Production costs have to be sky-high to build the same car in a billion different configurations.
Or maybe they care. Why not create less inventory that simply bakes in the sun and BTO like most computer companies? Pay for the options you want, ditch the rest.
I wanted to buy a Dell laptop, it will take three weeks to build and ship; I know it takes less than day to build a car, so not sure why three weeks for a laptop. I think it is another proof that something is wrong with Dell. Best Buy had only three Dell models, none were the ones I wanted.
It’s so stupid how you need to declare that you are not an Apple Fanboy..Seriously, i can be a Porsche/Lakers/Obama fan but i can’t be an apple fan…
Give me a friggin break.
I own a mac and i get tired of people who are obsessed with mac, however, its the best computer i’ve had. i bought it for more sure, but i havent had ANY problems, i love the product i bought. just because people don’t like macs dont make them a good product.
Plenty of other industries could take this advice to heart too.
Toyota just last year overtook GM to become the world’s largest automaker (by revenue). GM has a dozen brands worldwide. Toyota? 3. And up until recently (scion), it was two…
Windows Vista is currently available in 4 annoying “flavors” (and we’ve seen how successful Vista is). If Microsoft were smart, they would release one premium version of their OS…
ummm…
hate to tell you guys this. but msoft hasn’t lost a dime!!
in fact, msoft has made quite a bit more in $$$ than apple. check out their financials. oh yeah, why do that!!!
it’s way easier to spout crap.
msoft has laid off resources/people because they have/are losing their way… but msoft could simply shut down all but a minimal staff for sales/upgrades, and still keep making billions for the next 5-10 years…
so please, get off the kool-aid…
peace
Microsoft’s Q4 profits were over $4 billion, then they lay of 5,000 people. Gross.
My favorite example of the simple product line is Red Bull. When they created the energy drink category, they had 4 SKUs: regular can, sugar-free can, regular 4 pack, sugar-free 4 pack.
I am responsible for purchasing for a 200+ user company with macs and pc’s and I would agree 100%. With apple purchases, my decision takes < 3 minutes (desktop? Laptop? Power User? Standard User?)… With dell, there are 5 laptop lines Dell sells to consumers and small businesses, 3 lines they sell to large business, each line is subdivided into about 10 categories and each particular product has more than 100 configurable options. When it comes time to purchase a laptop for a windows developer, my heart fills with dread.
-jb
I am responsible for purchasing for a 200+ user company with macs and pc’s and I would agree 100%. With apple purchases, my decision takes < 3 minutes (desktop? Laptop? Power User? Standard User?)… With dell, there are 5 laptop lines Dell sells to consumers and small businesses, 3 lines they sell to large business, each line is subdivided into about 10 categories and each particular product has more than 100 configurable options. When it comes time to purchase a laptop for a windows developer, my heart fills with dread.
-jb
I don’t buy Apple because I have fewer choices. I buy it because of good products. The products are good because the company has poured more resources into a narrower focus. Simple concept really.
imagine if EVERY company acted like apple. we’d have no choices, no flexibility. life would suck.
Matt, you hit the nail on the head. Because Apple devotes its limited resources to creating and managing fewer products, those products end up being better. Same is also true for software. Windows Vista notably comes in about seven different versions. Great article.
I don’t think that the main reason Apple is successful is because they use the K.I.S.S. model. Apple has down a brilliant job with respect to research and development and has continuously came out with a great product. I highly disagree with the author claiming all companies should do what Apple does as there is not just one path to become successful. What other companies need to do is bring out better products and market them with force to their target.
Read The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz (http://tinyurl.com/ydcaln) and then Read Focus by Al Ries (http://tinyurl.com/ced5qz) and you’ll have a better picture of the absurb lengths the mega-corporations go to in terms of line extensions and acquisitions. They could all do with some serious focusing of their product lines. It’s a counter-intuitive thing.. you’d think that it’s necessary to have dozens of choices to fill every conceivable niche, but it’s been shown time and time again that spreading yourself too thinly results in mediocre products and loss of market share.
That being said, people really need to stop with the Apple fanboy-ism. This isn’t me trying to be cool and bash Apple.. this is me saying they aren’t the only smart companies out there and it’s insulting to everyone else to suggest they are somehow magical. Take a look at Porsche.. three car models (now four?) where their competitors have dozens. Which has a better brand? Ford or Porsche? Chrysler? GM? Not only that, but their stock market coup this year was sheer genius.
If anything, Apple isn’t focused enough. They should ditch all the desktops and the servers and focus purely on portable computing. Their name is not synonymous with computers.. it’s with mobile computing.. namely the macbook, iphone and ipod. They don’t stand a chance against Linux servers from server specialists and the desktops are still cornered by Microsoft based PCs. If Apple focused solely on say three iphones, three ipods and three laptops, they would kill it in the market. Then from there, they’d have more resources to commit to new mobile computing niches. For that matter, they also need to dump all those retail stores. Historically, retail always turns into a profit sinkhole.. always.
The real genius at Apple (if you insist on calling it that) is how they cornered two markets.. music and phones. They weren’t the first with an mp3, but they were the first with a complete solution and now they are “first in mind” for music players. That’s a formidable position to be in. Now with cellphones they’ve almost got first in mind there too. First in mind is more important than the quality of your products, your features, your price.. it’s the most important thing you can do.
Other companies fail, not because of their products, but because of their inability to be “first in mind” for any category. They make 82 average products, in a dozen categories with entrenched competitors that already have “first in mind”.. that’s a recipe for disaster. If you can’t be “first in mind”, make a new category and be first there. Otherwise, your chances of success are slim.
Simplicty is important. Things in nature never converge, they evolve and split off into new species. Convergence never works.. a cellphone/camera is just an ok phone with an ok camera. It’s never as good as a cellphone that’s just a phone and a camera that only takes photos.
With regard to the statement that people only shop on value.. that’s completely and totally wrong. People shop for three reasons: innovation, value or performance. The three are not connected. Apple is innovation. Dell is value. SGI or DEC used to performance. Try and cross those lines and you’re doomed to failure.
“For that matter, they also need to dump all those retail stores.”
Are you nuts? Thats the main reason WHY they have the market share they do.
Touch and play with the hardware. Ask questions and get answers from people who aren’t minimum-wage stockboys. The SUPPORT by real, live breathing people who aren’t in Bangkok or New Deli. The One-to-One training in using iMovie and iPhoto.
No other vendor has all of those things… and it shows.
Consumers hate choices. They say they love them, but have you ever stood in front of a wall of plasmas and LCDs with a random person? I have and did for years at Circuit City. They get overwhelmed by the amount of options
I’d like to think I’m slightly brighter than your random person at Circuit City, and I still hate the innumerable choices you describe, in part because they make me feel like I’ll probably be ripped off, even if I’m not.
Furthermore, do I really want to spend a couple days surfing the web, monitoring bulletin boards, asking questions, and read spec sheets just so I can make sure I’m getting what I want? This might be the case for one or two important things, like an expensive computer, but I don’t want to do it for every cell phone, book, TV, cable, etc. It’s not unusual for me to give up and not want to upgrade if I can avoid it, because the research into the product that’s necessary to make the right choice can become more expensive in terms of time than the product itself.
Simplicity {seesmic_video:{”url_thumbnail”:{”value”:”http://t.seesmic.com/thumbnail/9FJIv2RDHO_th1.jpg”}”title”:{”value”:”Simplicity ”}”videoUri”:{”value”:”http://www.seesmic.com/video/eHnaFzQ1ho”}}}
agree. keep it simple for product, but smart for market.
That (Sony, Dell, etc..) is what you get when you let a bunch of vertical thinkers (aka left brained, aka non-systems thinking, aka ) get control of the management decisions.
I worked as a developer, marketing manger, and now developer again. Never let the engineers, techies, Business Analysts, etc… lead anything….they are the doers not the designers or decision makers, nor should they be the feature/function people. They should strictly stick to implementation or knowledge base for those right brained, lateral thinking, adhd, systems thinking, artsy people. Those who are more emotional, empathetic, and socially connected individuals.
Here is a link to a great presentation, but pay attention to slide 23!!!:
http://www.adhder.com
or the original at
http://madowney.com/blog/2009/01/02/learn-about-branding-in-this-short-visual-presentation/
Nice Apple ass KISSing.
Amen to this! I read the book “Paradox of Choice” years ago that argued the same point.
Windows doesn’t need to come in a dozen different versions. And, there doesn’t need to be 10 different mobile phone models running the same OS. RIM/Blackberry is getting better here, but look at the Bold and the Curve 8900. Those phones are so similar. Do they really need to offer both?
Agreed though at least there is a differentiation in RIM’s Curve and Blackberry. One is 2G and the Bold is 3G.
Apple though as an example is really what the American Auto industry should consider. It is not a solution for every company, but Garmin is ridiculous. Most of these companies have a problem by having too much inventory on hand, and they sell old/out-dated versions of Hardware. It is not that they are way cheaper, they just have old hardware in new packaging. Discontinuing old or less powerful hardware in stores would reduce consumer confusion. If you want something cheaper, find an old model on-line at Amazon or whatever. The point is focusing on putting your best foot forward.
The one comparable computer example out there is Sony. I think that going forward they may be emulating Apple during the downturn. The Vaio P, non-netbook netbook, is a nice fit into that market that does everything that people who buy netbooks without being under-powered or have the sucky resolution. Reduce the confusion, make the best cost efficient whatever the first time.
have to add a couple of thoughts though. First, I agree that consumers hate choices….to a point. I think America’s economy is so massive because people want choice in that they want to find products and services that help them express themselves, and express their personality. So in that sense, choice is good. But I do agree with the arguement that no one needs 82 choices of GPS.
But there also is a certain illusion of choice. When there are so many options, the space between the differentiations is so small it can be barely noticable. But it can be effective. Look at how many times Taco Bell can re-package Corn, beans, beef, and sour cream into products.
Second, Apple innovates. When they focus on a product, they build things that are different in so many ways from what already exists. They create things that are remarkable. They create products that don’t even need salespeople. The community and the identity of that community that Apple helped build is one that is a growing niche. That is, they are not afraid to build premium products that ‘are not for YOU.’ They’re not for everyone. They are, however, built for a niche that has a cool factor. A community that a lot of people want to be a part of.
Just my .02
@ryancmiller
love the comment about taco bell. One of the very reasons I don’t go their is ” it’s the same thing over and over in different combinations people!” and I also don’t care for the taste of it.
reading the blogs here… just an ordinary consumer who is really a techno peasant, I type on a dell, and it works. My daughter uses Macbook because it works for her at university and her needs. I don’t know… seems to be alot of spreading of the feathers here as you read through. I have used her Macbook and honestly. It’s just more attractive and easy to use. I don’t need all that other stuff you were talking about… acronyms, cards. blah blah blah….
my 2 cents. N
Apple’s market share is only highest in the iPod area. In the other markets their share is much smaller. Meh
Hmmm…me thinks you are a closeted fanboy. Are the 4, 8, & 16 gig iPhones not 3 different versions with different prices & one small modification? Apple wins mostly due to locking people into proprietary hardware, videos, and music. Since when is lack of freedom of choice a good thing?
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Well, acutally there are only two memory sizes (8 and 16) in the lineup at the current time. In two colors.
But price points matter to some people, as do colors. Just look at all of those Nanos…
>>One cellphone, four iPods, three notebooks, and three desktop computers.
It’s a fair point. What about all the software and now online services that they’re into? Music on iTunes? Did those not pad out their bottom line?
Personally an X windows user, from 95 on.. wife has a new laptop running Vista with 4 gigs of RAM, I use an iMac and a Macbook for about 5 years now.
To windows users that keep picking on Apple.. first you should use and get used to using one of their products and than talk…
I got used to using the Microsoft products and it took a little while to get used to how different Apple products work…. and at this point specially after using vista to set up my girlfriends system.. I’ll never go back to windows… Apple products are as simple as “they just work” .. haven’t had a chance to learn the in and outs of my Macs.. since I never had to.. unlike windows that you are force to learn it with every crash…..