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So, it seems Adobe and Apple have decided to spend some money advertising by means of “open letters” Here’s my letter to both of them.

We get it, you don’t mean any harm and you think what you’re doing/asking for is best for the consumer.

The case for Adobe.

In an ideal world, it would be awesome if I wrote something once, and it worked across all platforms. It really would be cool if I could press a button and my code became an iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry app.

The case against Adobe.
Individual companies have been trying this for years, we’ve called it different things, and they’ve failed.

Sun started this with Java, “it’s cross platform! write once, run anywhere! world peace!”. How many people still use Java “applets”?.

Youtube and other flash player based websites were awesome, finally, one didn’t need realplayer, windows media player, and some other start ups “innovative” new adware player. The consumers made the case for you, and you won that battle. Then you proceeded to drop your pants, and dance.. and you got caught. You didn’t anticipate the growth in mobile phones for browsing, you didn’t think about how your tech would be used in web browsers where the mouse wasn’t the primary form of input.

Had you any foresight, leadership and innovation, you wouldn’t be in this situation. You’re trying to confuse the masses, because you yourself are confused. Who is your customer? The App developers? The Web developers? Or is it the people who are using the apps, and browsing the web sites? If you follow the money, in the end, your
customers are the people who don’t care what technology is used, as long as they get the content they thought they were going to get.

You have not made the same case for mobile devices, on phones that do support flash, the experience of viewing a flash website is horrible. You’ve had since 2006 to solve this issue, and from all recent reports.. you haven’t made any progress. So, with a 4 year track record of failing…. why should anyone trust you?

Why should we think that your cross platform tools will work as expected? You haven’t been able to keep up with changes in the mobile landscape, what makes you think you’ll keep up with changes?

The case for Apple.
You’ve spent a lot of time money building the iPhone OS, and you’re about to reveal OS Touch, or whatever Steve decides to call it. You’ve made it clear, you don’t care about quantity, your only concern is quality, and in the process you’ll piss people off. In the world of hardware development, you’re actually faster than most people would like to admit, or give you credit for.

The case against Apple.
You could screw up, you could take away a feature, or you could incorporate a feature into your OS that negates an app completely. We’re all aware of it, and it’s a risk we’re willing to take. Because, for the past 10 years, your track record, makes us want to be on your side.

Apple, fanboys will justify anything you do, and haters will find something wrong with you saving all the puppies in the world.

So What’s Next?
Adobe, first admit that you dropped the ball, go back to the drawing board, and come back. Don’t try to win a PR war for something that doesn’t exist. Flash for mobile doesn’t suck because of Apple, it sucks because of you. Apple is historically slow in adopting technologies, they weren’t the first with the mp3 player, the touch phone, the tablet, but they are the best. Get that through your ego.

Apple, keep doing what you’re doing, I wish you were more open about your intentions, but I understand that development by committee doesn’t make sense, and your committee would become too big, too quickly. We all remember System 7, copland, and your other failures. It’s obvious you do too, keep it up, don’t get too cocky.

No Comments »Tags: adobe, apple, rants, technology

To say that Apple has changed the mobile phone industry is an understatement. They changed the MP3 player market before that. Now all rumors point to an impending tablet/touchscreen device, what market will this affect?  Everyone else has their ideas, so I’ll throw mine in as well, some of these ideas aren’t just fantasies, but reports from sources familiar with Apple.

iPhone on Verizon

This is a big deal for the US, but not much of a surprise, AT&T doesn’t bring anything of exclusive value to the table, so the exclusivity contract will not last.  This is such a no-brainer, that I won’t spend much time on it.  If you have a contract with any carrier, and it’s about to expire in the next 3 months, great, just stay with them and go month to month, you don’t need to buy a new phone yet.

Tablet/Slate/Larger iPod Touch

I know for a fact that this is happening, and is bigger than people think it is. This is not just an addition to their line up, but an attempt to change theway we interact with computers on a daily basis. The iPhone and iPod touch were nothing more than experiments, and we all paid willingly, to be their lab rats. The first victim of this device will be the Amazon Kindle and other ‘e-readers’.  The proponents of current readers thought people would love to be able to carry the same number of books with them, as they do their music. Forgetting that most songs are less than 3 minutes long, and don’t require the undivided attention of the user. Even with things like “read to me”, the form factor is plain unsexy and cumbersome.  Combine that with text only display for magazines and periodicals, and the process of reading just becomes downright painful. Now imagine a device that lets you check your email, surf the web, and read your favorite magazine or book at any time, and it does it all in color.  That’s what the tablet will do. The first generation will not make voice calls via a cell network, but will have EVDO built in.  Now how is this better than any other tablet, or laptop/netbook?

As a consumer, it’s better because it’s further consolidation of multiple devices, it’s a bigger form factor than an iPhone, and I am 99% certain, won’t require a contract with AT&T. All data will go through Verizon’s EVDO network, with Sprint/Clear 4G coming in 2011. You can take this device to your office, “dock it”, and  use it with a bigger/newer display and your existing keyboard/mouse.

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1 Comment »Tags: apple, tablet, verizon

Despite a tanking economy, Apple has record sales and profits and doesn’t need a fire sale to compete this holiday season.  Find out four things they have mastered which make this possible.

Apple is coming off the best performing fiscal year ever according to cNet, with $1.67 billion in profit – which is a whopping $1.82 per share of earnings.  This along with record sales for the Mac and iPhone, I wonder how Apple does it.

When other companies struggle to weather the economic storm, how is it that Apple is able to sell a record number of some of the most expensive phones and computers on the market?  Why is it that people are willing to put up with AT&T just to have the glorious iPhone?

Image of the new iMac from apple.com

Dell just came out with their earnings a few weeks ago and missed even the most modest analysts expectations with only $727 million in profit, or $0.27 per share.  Not even close to Apple, and the new Netbooks with Windows 7 is apparently pretty hot, right?

Part of the answer is how they package it. When you buy any Apple product, the packaging is very high end – you feel like you have purchased something very special.  When I first opened my new MacBook Pro box, I felt like I was opening a gift from Nordstrom’s. Open an HP box and it’s nothing special.  You actually get instructions that look like they were meant for a 5-year old, or those wordless graphics like you see in the backseat of an airplane.  Yep – I think I can figure out how to put the battery in – thanks.

Part of the answer is how they market the products. If you visit www.apple.com from a PC, you see a page really hyping the new iMac.  If you visit the page from a Mac, then you get a page pushing new accessories.  This is smart marketing.  Visit www.dell.com and to find a monitor, you first have to decide if it’s for Home or Office – as if it matters – do they price them differently?  The Apple home page is simple, easy to navigate and puts a big focus on the “hero”, which are the products.  Their checkout process is refined and brilliantly cross-sells other accessories leaving you no choice but to fill your cart with about $300 of more stuff that you absolutely have to have.  After all, that’s great marketing, right?

Part of the answer is their trusted brand. Apple has spent years building a brand.  A brand that you can trust is reliable and where the products will last.  The only company that decided it was better to manufacture the hardware and the software all in the same place.  That means installing new software or applications will only require you to click and drag an icon, rather than having to scour the Internet for a driver.

Part of the answer is innovation. The innovative products that Apple keeps pumping out are a huge factor in their success.  If your company doesn’t change, or innovate, you likely will not experience explosive growth, revenue or profits.

So if you have all of these things and you’ve been able to create insatiable demand, you really don’t need to have sales on days like “black Friday.”  Not only would a sale “cheapen” the brand, but it creates an expectation in the mind of the consumer that all you have to do is wait and eventually the price will go down.  This is what the cable companies do at the end of every month, and car companies do at the end of every year.  Surely you’ve heard the best time to buy a car is at the “end of the year clearance sales” – right?  Apples doesn’t need sales, and unless the competition brings, well….competition, they probably won’t even have to lower their prices much either.

10 Comments »Tags: apple, marketing, marketing strategy