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Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) just keep volleying with each other with the duel between the iPhone and the Palm Pre, don't they? Accusations of an
"iPhone copycat" surfaced right after the Palm Pre was announced. After all, quite a bit of Apple design influence now works at Palm. But the war is not over yet, as one of the neater features of the Palm Pre has now been deactivated by Apple.
Palm Pre users can no longer sync their phones to their Apple iTunes accounts, as Apple has now blocked that feature. Apple's iTunes works on its popular iPhones and iPod devices, but removing this direct syncing ability will be a blow to Palm Pre users who were looking forward to that feature for years to come. Some will say this is Apple's jealously at work, while other may say it wants to keep its ecosystem alive with only Apple products and services. But Apple didn't just kill Palm Pre syncing -- all devices that pretend to be iPods so they can sync with iTunes are now disabled by the move.
What does this all mean? It's standard Apple fare -- unplug anything and everything that's non-Apple to protect the Apple customer experience with its entire range of services for the consumer electronics universe. But still -- some other companies want to be able and integrate into the Apple universe somehow. Apple is fiercely protective of that universe, though -- and that's probably a main reason why it is so successful: it knows how to control the user experience to the best of its ability, and it designs and markets beautiful technology. Can that be said for many other companies? No -- but Palm definitely has a beauty in the Palm Pre. Too bad Apple agrees here.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-20-2009 @ 7:56PM
Beltway Greg said...
Apple is not "volleying" with Pre in the least. Palm actually has a new, though somewhat tenuous lease on corporate existence via Apple's redefinition of the space because of the smartphone market and the simple fact that they really had nothing left to lose. Essentially, the Pre is the Doug Flutie hail mary pass of smartphones; if it didn't work they were gone and of course, with profitability slated to recommence in the second half of 2010, it still may not survive. Expropriating former employees is one thing but creating a product that mimics certain unique aspects of another product is bad business and I'll bet the Apple gang knew exactly what was coming and, instead of litigation, decided to allow Palm to release the Pre and then pull the plug on ITunes injuring Palm and daring anyone else to try something similar. Basically, they got a twofer and Palm paid the price.
The Apple experience? Microsoft has given Apple the biggest compliment by planning to build stores in the vicinity of Apple's retail experience. Has Apple been successful? According to what I've read Apple is the most successful retailer per sq. ft. in America and if Ballmer and the Boys do anything less it would reek of failure and desperation. (Which of course it already does.) Apple controls nothing. It provides the customer with superior products which are euphonious to the senses. At this writing Apple controls a relatively miniscule portion of the smartphone market and though it has grown exponentially in the last few years the sky is the limit.
Tomorrow $1.47 $200/share by Dec. 31.