Apple’s Next Move and why it’s not a Netbook
With the massive proliferation of small, inexpensive laptops, now called netbooks, selling like hot cakes, it’s easy to see why so many PC makers are jumping on the bandwagon. These little laptops are all about 7” x 10”, sell from $270 to $370 and are under 3 lbs. They are basic, with no frills, and make buying a computer a simple decision. So why can’t Apple jump into this market? It makes sense that they create something that appeals to their loyalists, like me, in this category, right? Not really.
When you carefully look at Apple’s brand—what they represent in the market—it’s not about duplicating the current competitors’ approaches to product categories with faster, cheaper, better. When Apple dropped “computer” from its name it made a bigger commitment to what people do with their products not what the products are. By reinventing existing approaches to technology and functionality, understanding it’s all about connectivity to what customers want, Apple has focused on the real value in the technology market –how media connects you.
For example, look at the iPhone and iPod Touch. It’s been an amazing and unbelievable success with over 30 million sold because Apple was not introducing a phone. They created a device that extended the iPod into direct downloads from the web with real time connections that allow for email and interactivity. On top of this, they created a model of shared revenue with third party application developers (similar to iTunes) that allowed users to download applications and customize the iPhone to their personal interests. There are over 30,000 applications for the iPhone now more than any smart phone on the market and now one of the fastest growing gaming platforms.
The missing piece of their equation is something like a souped-up iPod Touch, flexible, more than a netbook, something with a bigger screen but extremely portable. And given Amazon’s success with the Kindle, which downloads books and magazines, this opens the door for Apple to copy the Kindle model with book downloads. Now add in third party developers and bingo – a thin, simple-to-use interactive tablet you can customize, take anywhere, surf the web, play games on, watch a movie or just download the latest New York Times.
Looking at the rumor mill and the images that are out there, I think Apple will be coming out with a simple tablet that does what the Kindle does – but with color, the ability to rotate horizontally or vertically, and a touch screen key board, all at a price point of about $700 or less.
The point being, this is not a direct competitor to the netbook. This is something much more. It all adds up to a brand continuing to define itself by making devices for connection, sharing, communicating and downloading– not just making faster, cheaper computers. If I had two key words to define the Apple brand it would be mobility and interactivity– what humans are all about.