> This happens repeatedly: Apple is very good at choosing the right time to enter a market -- hitting it when it hits primetime -- and then they get credit for creating the market. I
I know. Remember when Microsoft started the tablet market in 2003 and then Apple comes along 7 years later and steals credit for tablets! Psh!
And remember when Apple got credit for smartphones when all they did was enter the market that BlackBerry had created and turn it on it's fricken head with a device so much of a leap-frog that blackberry management thought would never ship? [http://mathiasmikkelsen.com/2011/05/blackberry-makers-though...]
And remember when they strolled into the MP3 player market after the Rio players were crushing it with literally thousands of units sold every year? They step into that market right when it's about to blow up and next thing you know, everybody acts like Apple was the company that put the white buds in everybody's ears!
In all seriousness, yes, Apple does of course time their entry into a market. And when they do, they unleash a torrent of innovation, marketing, and brand goodwill. I bet name recognition for fitbit is under 50% on the street. What do you think that would/will be if Apple released a similar wearable? Like them or not, Apple products are iconic. My dad knows iPod and iPhone. Do you think he knows HTC One? Or even Galaxy S?
Nobody contests that Apple products are iconic. The trouble, a lot of people seem to think that since Apple popularized something, they "own" it now and any other company that enters the market (or was in the market before Apple!) is now "stealing" what rightfully belongs to Apple.
I know. Remember when Microsoft started the tablet market in 2003 and then Apple comes along 7 years later and steals credit for tablets! Psh!
And remember when Apple got credit for smartphones when all they did was enter the market that BlackBerry had created and turn it on it's fricken head with a device so much of a leap-frog that blackberry management thought would never ship? [http://mathiasmikkelsen.com/2011/05/blackberry-makers-though...]
And remember when they strolled into the MP3 player market after the Rio players were crushing it with literally thousands of units sold every year? They step into that market right when it's about to blow up and next thing you know, everybody acts like Apple was the company that put the white buds in everybody's ears!
In all seriousness, yes, Apple does of course time their entry into a market. And when they do, they unleash a torrent of innovation, marketing, and brand goodwill. I bet name recognition for fitbit is under 50% on the street. What do you think that would/will be if Apple released a similar wearable? Like them or not, Apple products are iconic. My dad knows iPod and iPhone. Do you think he knows HTC One? Or even Galaxy S?