One quote stands out from the rest about the level playing field where there's no marketing involved and it's all about the quality of the application and building word of mouth momentum from there..
"You can come up with a generic idea, but implement it properly and you really are going to stand out," Sarner said in a phone interview. "Basically everybody's on the same level once they submit an iPhone app. Unlike traditional marketing, there's no ad campaign: A user just sees what he sees in the iPhone store, and the applications kind of have to sell themselves to some extent."
Austin Sarner- Design by Knife- CEO
Posted by Ed Cotton
(2) He uses some great examples that show how the brands communicate online with their users and it clearly shows that Apple is from a very different era and hasn't quite grasped this whole 2.0 thing.
However, I don't really think this matters for Apple and don't believe it really impacts the brand.
Apple has always been about selling something shiny, new and enticing. Something you pay top dollar for and show off proudly to all around you. It sells the ultimate gadget and things that are truly magical.
On the other Google, doesn't sell anything, it's a free service, but it needs its users to keep coming back to it to view the pages that contain its valuable ads. It has to do everything it can to keep these people happy and content. Charmed in the knowledge that Google is the best "free" thing in their lives.
Apple could benefit from opening up, but let's face it, this is not the company's style. It's a one man autocracy and until he decides to open the floodgates and let everyone inside out and visa versa this isn't going to happen. I believe the lack of openness works in the brand's favor. It keeps things mysterious and interesting, you never quite know what they are up to next and it would a shame if they did anything to give that away.
As long as Apple keeps making products that amaze us, it can get away without opening up.
It doesn't have to do a Dell, until it becomes like Dell.
Apple sells us a dream and the more it becomes like real life, the less interesting it becomes.
Transparency is not for them...
Posted by Ed Cotton
Movies
According to Variety, Apple's move into the movie business appears to be working quite well.
"Studio execs said that iTunes movie sales and rentals -- which the computer company said tops 50,000 daily -- dominate the small but closely watched digital movie biz. Apple is now on track to sell or rent 18.25 million movies a year, or triple the number of last year, before it inked deals with all major studios for new-release rentals and sales."
Phones
Apple placed an order with Samsung for 50 million NAND flash chips. It's basically taken over Samsung's production. The order is so big, Samsung is asking its other customers to wait. A fascinating development when you consider that Samsung also wants to play in the phone wars, but here it is helping a foe with a critical component.
Posted by Ed Cotton
"At the beginning of last year, Ms Oppenheimer poached Helen Dodd, a retail design expert, from Tesco.
Ms Dodd, who has spent 20 years working out how to attract customers to shops and keep them there, trooped 250 Barclays customers and staff through the Northampton warehouse to test the new layout and technology.
Nothing was sacred, not even the good old British queue with the black tape barriers. The new Manchester branch is experimenting with a ying-yang-shaped queue, broken up by waist-height pillars housing computer games. The branch's space-age information desk is pure Apple store, while, according to Ms Dodd: “We're trialling a lot of different queueing methodologies - people do PhDs on this stuff.”
The childrens' play area is inspired by the Science Museum. There is no glass separating tellers from customers, to stop people from raising their voices, something that Ms Dodd believes makes banking more stressful.
Curves are used to make customers feel “warmer”, while the glass frontage will make women more inclined to enter. “At the moment, they don't feel welcomed into branches,” Ms Dodd said. Concierges, dressed in uniforms by the designer Jeff Banks, will issue customers with tickets telling them how long they must wait and even if they would be served more quickly if they went to another branch.
Getting the right doormat was key - customers like dry feet, so Ms Dodd found a mat that dried wet soles within four steps. The Manchester branch operates to the same timetable as other retailers, with late night and weekend opening."
Posted by Ed Cotton
(1) According to Google that doesn't appear to be the case and despite Apple continuing to grab the headlines, Microsoft's Gates is a more popular search term. Despite Bill's semi-retirement he still has iconic status.
Perhaps, Microsoft needs to remember this!
Posted by Ed Cotton
He compares two stores in Oxford St, London and concludes;
The Nokia store is a gallery.
The Apple store is alive.
The Nokia store staff are tech sellers.
The Apple store staff are tech users.
The Nokia store is a place where you browse.
The Apple store is a place where you use.
The Nokia store is about surface.
The Apple store is about corporate DNA
In essence, it's clear that Apple has a brand and Nokia doesn't. This was fine for Nokia when they had the mobile world to themselves, but it looks like they need some serious brand work to prevent Apple from taking some major share in this space.
Posted by Ed Cotton