The Swing Of Things

Rarely does one single question get as much attention as now infamous journalist Bob Keefe’s at the latest Apple event. Not because it was interesting, but because of claims that it was utterly stupid. However, questions can’t be stupid. The people asking them is another thing entirely.

So why was it stupid to ask this particular question? Not so much the fact that Apple never puts stickers of any kind on their computers. Remember that the a large part of the Mac-community itself was quite excited to see if there would be any Intel promostickers on the new Macs. The simple answer is partly in what Steve Jobs himself replied:

We love working with Intel. We’re proud to ship Intel products in Macs. They’re screamers, and combined with our OS, we’ve tuned them well. It’s just that everyone knows we use Intel processors. We’d rather not tell them about the product that’s inside the box

People that care about such knows there are Intel processors inside, and what kind. Steve Jobs knows very well that the first thing his customers will do is peel off that sticker - if it was there. He also knows it will irritate them. Of course he also knows that no one is buying Macs because there are Intel processors in them. In fact most people could care less for what is inside that box - including the processor. People buy Macs because they like them and has taken a distinct choice both for the Apple brand of hardware and operating system. No small choice in a world where 90% runs flavors of Windows.

Actually the same goes for Apple. Apple does not sell Intel processors. They sell Mac’s - and will never do anything to take peoples attention from that fact. They use Intel processors now, because at the moment they offers the better price/performance/versatility. But remember - Apples stuff runs on at least three kinds of architecures.

So the good question in this matter is not why Apple is not promoting Intel processors, but rather: why does almost everyone else do? Why on earth is everyone willing to deteriorate they’re own brand in this obvious way? I can not think of any other tech product at all that is promoting any component inside like the PC-business is promoting Intel and Windows. In fact I honestly can think of no brand at all that does this.

Bob Keefe himself argues that his is a good question because Apple is saying no to millions at the cost of the shareholders. That is ignorant at best. Look no further than to Apples market cap and results compared to the competition. Even if revenue and unit shipment is far behind for example Dell, Apple’s market value is almost double. One of the major reasons for this is that Apple is very conscious about their brand. They let nothing disturb it. Most certainly not third party components. Intel’s processors are no more or less important than any other - hence they get no special treatment. I believe the shareholders are quite happy with this arrangement.

At least there is no little satisfaction to watch a journalist getting the heat himself and feeling oh, so hurt. Should make him think, really.

There has been some rumbling - again - about that Google phone thingie. Strong consensus amongst certain people that it is really on it’s way. Might of course be, but is it likely that Google will join that hardware business all of a sudden?

First; I should think that Google is working a lot with mobile stuff. See no longer than to Apple’s iPhone for proof of that, and that is obviously only the beginning. Actually anyone NOT working a lot with mobile stuff these days will probably find themselves buried in a few years.
But hardware is not Google’s way of doing business. Furthermore, there is no good reason they should even bother. Hardware in itself is a marginal business. What makes hardware stand out is software. That is why Apple reap close to 15% profit where pure hardware manufacturers work hard to operate with closer to 5% - even with 6 times the sales.
Google is most certainly working on a “phone” - but the Google mobile is probably no one specific mobile. Remember all the talk about Google making an operating system a while back? Well, this might actually be it. They’ll make an OS allright - but not for the old fashioned PCs mind you. They’ll make a lightweight incarnation that will install on ANY phone or mobile device out there. Fast, versatile and free - rich with apps and practical tools. And it will create an insane cashflow for Google from virtual peanuts. Yes it will most probably debut in some special made hardware - but not from Google itself.
That’s also why “Apple” is worried about it - they know the power of software.

Seems like Fake Steve got busted by this NYT guy… so much for that fun.