Suckers never die, they just exchange places with each other - A proberb
Apple shoots itself in the foot with the Ipad Fanbois buy mirrors instead of Macs By Lawrence Latif Wed Jan 26 2011, 17:32THE MAKER OF SHINY TOYS, Apple is starting to see sales of its Macintosh computers stunted by the Ipad.
Market analysts Asymco produced not only evidence that Ipad sales grew massively in the fourth quarter of 2010 but also that a worrying trend is emerging for Apple, in that the sales growth of its Mac computers is falling. Even though its figures suggest otherwise, Asymco claimed that Ipads are in fact not cannibalising Mac sales.
Further data presented by Asymco show that Apple is flogging fewer Ipods, with users opting for Iphones instead. That isn't particularly surprising as industry pundits have been talking about the MP3 player market becoming saturated and eventually declining for many years. However for Apple and its shareholders, news that sales of its once bread and butter line of computers is facing declining growth will start to ring alarm bells.
Apple managed to steal a march on its rivals in the tablet market with the Ipad, but to expect that it will continue to lead the market with the slew of Android devices from big name manufacturers weighing in is presumptuous and risky. Impressive growth in Ipad sales figures won't shock anyone, after all Apple's faithful will gladly spend money on a mobile phone that can't even make phone calls, and few real tablet alternatives existed until the end of 2010. However, the issue of product cannibalisation is an important one for Apple if it wants to retain the image of being a computer company rather than just the purveyor of shiny consumer gadgets.
Although Mac sales are not falling according to Asymco's figures, the stuttering growth is surely a concern for Apple. While it might peddle overpriced gadgets such as the Ipod, Iphone and Ipad, on the whole its range of Imacs and Macbooks offer a good mix of price, performance and of course attractive design.
Maybe Apple doesn't care about its changing public image. There have been signs that Apple has stopped innovating, such as its decision to include relatively minor updates to the Imac, Macbook Air, Mac Mini and Iphone 4. Then of course there also is its Mac Pro, with few words in the English language being adequate to describe the level of insanity one requires to purchase a Mac Pro. So perhaps it is not surprising that even with the fabled fruit logo on the back of its machines, Apple is facing a tough time trying to increase its computer sales.
As fanbois grab the pitchforks, it's important to remember that especially in the case of the Iphone 4, the device is a middling product with a high-end price tag. Software wise, Google's Android OS equals or surpasses Apple's IOS on many fronts, while the impressive yet patronisingly named Retina Display on the Iphone 4 is its only cutting edge hardware feature. For the other Apple products, it's really an open and shut case that they are mediocre hardware that's overpriced.
Apple's Imac is still arguably the best all-in-one computer on the market but its design, the barometer of Apple innovation, has changed little in over three years. After years of leaving the Macbook Air alone, the specifications barely changed with Apple's refresh. The same can be said of the Mac Mini, which is also positioned as an Xserve replacement, if one is silly enough to believe Apple's marketing bumpf.
So is Apple shooting down part of its product line by launching the Ipad? The figures do tend to suggest that when Jobs' Mob releases a major new product such as the Iphone or the Ipad, there is a detrimental effect on its pre-existing products such as the Ipod and the Mac range of computers. This might also explain why Apple was relatively slow in developing a Mac App Store. After all, why would Apple care that Mac sales were being hurt by products that generate cash for the outfit after the original sale?
What Asymco's figures do show is that Apple is clearly turning from being a computer firm into one that just designs shiny consumer electronics. ยต
