Comments on: Is Apple the new Microsoft? – iPhone customers begin backlash

By: Tim Gee

Tim Gee — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 17:32:19 +0000

Locking phones to carrier networks is the way things are done in the US. Consumers trade locked phones for huge carrier subsidies that reduce the price of these phones – many times to “free” with a 2 year contract.

People in countries without carrier subsidies have unlocked phones.

This doesn’t let Apple off the hook necessarily, but the wireless phone industry is going through major changes and it is not clear what contract provisions were desired by Apple and which by AT&T.

By: Ken

Ken — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 05:09:32 +0000

Wow. Apple is a business. A very successful one with some very good products. I remember when the switch to Intel was announced and the hue and cry from the faithful about being “betrayed”. I’ve wanted to run OS X on my PC for years, but Apple wanted to saddle me with their hardware. Pretty unfair, and not very consumer friendly if you ask me. After I thought about it, I realized the mystique was really nothing but a clever way to market product, and appeal to my inner snob and make me feel more discerning than the BSOD rabble. No matter how many times I used the CEOs first name, Steve was not dropping by for a glass of dry white wine. What’s next? Disney is an amusement park and the only magic is having money left over after the visit?

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 02:35:41 +0000

People who say Apple has changed since its rise to extraordinary success amaze me. Apple has always acted in its own best interest even when it was not in the best interests of its customers. In this Apple is very much like most other companies. What distinguishes Apple is not some hippy “let’s change the world for the better” mentality but rather a devotion to excellent design. Apple is not the new Microsoft because its products are bought by individuals in the face of corporate monopoly — 93% of computers are Windows PCs, remember. Apple didn’t deny consumers choices as Microsoft did by demanding OEMs offer only their software on PCs. Even now, iPhones constitute less than 2% of the phone market. You have choices, but if you want an Apple iPhone, you’ll have to get it Apple’s way, or hey, there’s the highway. And unlike with Microsoft, there is a highway.

By: DaveP

DaveP — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 01:57:55 +0000

The ‘is vs are’ debate is over, I’ve fixed it… sorry, my bad!

Derick, Apple’s approach to business has definitely changed, and okay they may be making more money now, but at what cost?

Richard, gorgeous products maybe, but the whole forcing consumers who want their product to be saddled with a company or deal they don’t want is ludicrous. Give people a choice ffs!

By: Richard

Richard — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 01:43:36 +0000

Apple is a company whose purpose is to make profit. That it does so creating gorgeous devices doesn’t diminish its profit motive. If you don’t like the terms of agreement, don’t buy. If part of the deal is to lock the iPhone to a single telephone company and you don’t like it, don’t buy. It’s not the same as Microsoft working to destroy competition and winding up with a monopoly — you have a choice; employ it.

Also, I refer you to Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style. Apple is a single company made up of many individuals; even so, Apple is an ‘it’. You don’t say England are, do you?

By: jsk

jsk — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 01:35:22 +0000

Are Apple the new Microsoft?!?!

What is that, Ebonics? Hip slang? I’ve been seeing that a lot lately. Last time I checked, Apple was but one company, not several (aka singular, not plural).

Just curious.

And, yes, Apple’s business practices have gotten a little sleazy of late.

By: James

James — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 00:54:17 +0000

Derick,
You’re absolutely dead wrong. You might want to look up the Magnuson-Moss Act. It’s illegal what they are doing.

By: University Update - Steve Jobs - Are Apple the new Microsoft? - iPhone customers begin backlash

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 00:47:29 +0000

[...] Are Apple the new Microsoft? – iPhone customers begin backlash » This Summary is from an article posted at TECH.BLORGE.com on Sunday, November 04, 2007 This [...]

By: Derick

Derick — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 23:58:31 +0000

Why would anyone be surprised that a company that has always been focused on selling proprietary software and computer hardware would close off your access to providers when it starts selling phones? Apple’s not doing anything differently than it has been for the last 20 years…