Although this conversation probably never took place, I can well believe the scene is playing out as if it did. One day, Steve Jobs and Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who sits on Apple’s Board of Directors, were having lunch and talking shop. In one of those fated eureka moments, they both devised a strategy that […]

Lots of pundits are content with putting the words “Apple Inc.” and “proprietary” in the same sentence. A lot of that is, of course, due to the tight vertical integration of all of their products, from the iPod to Macs and Mac OS X. However, there is an awful lot about the Mac these days […]

Whenever I consider possible future hardware and software from Apple, the well-worn phrase, “We do not discuss unreleased products” comes to mind. Indeed, getting a roadmap of any of their ongoing development programs seldom occurs, and when it does, there’s always a specific marketing reason, or the need to get developers onboard. Yes, the iPhone […]

A normal part of child psychology is that, if the parent asks for something, the response will often be the opposite of what they expect. This is part of the process of establishing the child’s own independent personality. Now I wouldn’t say that Apple’s strategy shows a childlike veneer, but they certainly have long-term marketing […]