This relates to one of the earlier lectures/blog posts, and I think that all the companies should just get along and make the most useful, cheapest, coolest mobile devices that they can.
That being said, I am quite the anti-Apple person, despite owning an iPhone 3gs, an iPod touch, and an iPod nano, all of which, I only paid for one, the iPhone, which I got for cheap off eBay about a month ago. So as you can see, I am quite technologically outdated owning such an old iPhone, but it does the job, and I usually tease people who upgrade saying that the 4, and now 4s is not that much different anyway.
I pride myself on not having brand loyalty, but then I remember, nearly all my computer stuff is HP, but I think this is more my parents trusting it, or their workplace having some sort of deal with them for cheap products.
I found this infographic, from 'Google vs Apple: who's winning the tech industry land grab?' which details the whole Apple vs Google thing anyway, and it appears that they're becoming more and more tied everyday:
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| See http://www.techi.com/2011/08/google-vs-apple-whos-winning-the-tech-industry-land-grab/ for the full infographic |
But what is the relevance of this?
Now here comes the commerce student in me: I think that it's all to do with marketing and innovation. It's essentially just a race between the two companies to innovate, and then make money. I also think that Apple has an envious marketing campaign, as it has established itself as a brand to which people are loyal, and has even produced fanboys and girls. Further, most of my friends who are Apple fans tend to be a little up themselves. Thinking that just owning this particular brand makes them better than everyone else. And here's an article that supports this idea: 'Apple iPhone Marketing: a work of genius'.
At the end of the day it doesn't matter what you use, it's how you use it. To tie this in with my research topic of social media revolutions, you can look at the English riots, where Blackberrys and iPhones were the main devices being used. Or even the Arab Spring, which I'm not sure what they used. But Either way, smartphones and innovation are drastically changing the society in which we live, and it's all just a matter of business and money.
Interesting post! I too think it's a bit silly. Part of me thinks they should all just get together over tea and scones and try to make the best operating systems and phones together...almost like a universal computer company. We all know that's not going happen,simply because competition pushes innovation. If both companies want to be the best, biggest etc then they constantly have to fight for that title. They need to work, invent, create, study, learn, market, research etc to come up with the products that everyone wants. At the end of the day it's all on the users and what they want. Whichever company provides that to the largest majority of people wins. Will it be Apple or Google....or maybe Microsoft. I guess only time will tell.
ReplyDeleteDont worry your not alone.. I also think its a bit silly. I am also quite an anti-Apple person however own a iPhone 4 (which I wasnt really given an option in getting)and iPod touch. But I guess not having this specific brand loyalty allows for us to see what other technologies are out there as well as going into seeing technology with an open mind.
ReplyDeleteHaha I love what AJobst said " all just get together over tea and scones and try to make the best operating systems and phones together" that would be great instead of just having several companies battle it out for the number 1 spot we could just have a 'super company'.
The down side to that is that we wouldnt have these channels of technology that are specifically targeted to a group of people, career or purpose. It would also limit our choices that we would have and as mentioned above limit the push for innovation.
Great post!
I believe the more choice we have the harder Google and Apple will have to work. Such as Ted said in the lecture today about Sony Ericsson being MIA for quite sometime, it seems they are constructing something that could topple the smartphone industry upside down. But I guess we'll see. Great post though Ben.
ReplyDeleteI am pretty impartial to both companies, I don't hate one and love the other but merely try and get the best I can that does exactly what I want it too. And as we've all said in our blog posts for this topic, it is all about the user.
Hey Ben, I do find it quite funny that you're 'anti-Apple' but own all that apple tech!
ReplyDeleteBut I'm the same when it comes to Facebook or Google, so I really shouldn't criticise...
But I do agree with you that in a lot of ways, the issue is a marketing one. You've basically got two different business models, that at least at the moment, are extremely successful despite their disparity. I think what we might find is that Android kind of becomes the 'everyman' product (kinda like the PC), while Apple continues as a sort of 'elite' product, in which people use it mostly for the brand. Because that's definitely what Apple's done best lately- branding themselves. Which is why Steve Job's launches got so much attention, what the whole Justin Long 'Get a Mac' campaign is really about... and why your Apple fanboy/girl friends seem so up themselves!
Silly but in the end necessary. Being a student of commerce I too see the other side of the story. I think back to the example of Watt and the steam engine, and how he spent his years fighting battles to keep his object patented and uncopied and in that time very little advancement was made. However once his patent expired there was a boom in steam engine technology as others were able to improve on the design (which he later added to his).
ReplyDeleteThat being said, without things such as patents and copyrights would there be an incentive for apple or Microsoft to innovate if others could simply copy+paste their ideas and make an equal amount of money? All the money and none of the R+D.
I respect that you don’t have brand loyalty, however I am an iphone person. Haha! I think it becomes a way of life (if you let it). I have one friend in my group of friends that doesn’t have an iphone and she has vowed to never get one protesting they are anti-social, mind you she doesn’t even have a coloured screen, and you say you are technologically outdated?? I think a lot of it does come down to trust, like your parents with HP. I trust in my iphone and I am yet to have it fail me, just as I trust in my cannon printer and my acer computer. I think it all comes down to the user and what he/she wants and trusts.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Lydia, your friend sounds just like me! I was extremely interested in what you had to say regarding the marketing campaign, Ben. As an advertising student I love depicting campaigns, and I think you are right, Apple's campaign seems hard to beat! Apple has managed to create an almost cult like following, recruiting an entourage of users who will not look towards any other brand. This is a very smart move by Apple, especially when you consider that their closed network does not allow for Apple products to merge with other technological products. In addition to this, their constant upgrades persuade users to keep renewing their devices, hence creating a flawless money making scheme for Apple.
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