Quote:
Originally Posted by Russic
But what makes Apple's phone killer? My argument would be that many of the features that cause people to connect with the iPhone is Apple's high level of involvement. How many times do you hear of somebody dropping their phone and cracking the screen only to have somebody at Apple replace it? Those are the types of things that build brand loyalty.
I'm not saying I'm right ... It's of course just a guess. We can't really roll back the clock and see if the iPhone would have been as big a success with Verizon digging their fingers in it.
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That control is a double edged sword - yes they can control the experience but what if their experience isn't the one you wish to have?
Where I think they really helped themselves is their app store. They created a way for developers to distribute their applications and a way for users to easily find applications. And while many of their guidelines and the application of some of their rules are somewhat arbitrary, it is the model of content distribution that has positioned them so well.
Same thing with the original iPod. They created a product very similar to what had already existed, but they created a way for people to get new content.
So by creating the ecosystem they are able to control the experience. The products, while excellent, have been matched or even surpassed by others. But no one else has been able to match the control of the entire experience (and Microsoft has tried) and that is where Apple dominates.