Apple Cries like a Baby

The United States adopted capitalism from its very beginning. Within capitalism, there are monopolies, oligopolies and something economists refer to as “perfect competition.” When the Iphone 1 was first introduced in 2007, it was completely innovative and broke down the barriers of what we have now come to know as a “mobile device.” Apple basically had a monopoly. It was the first to enter the market, and therefore prospered greatly (financially). Having said that, in a capitalistic society, competition is natural, and furthermore encouraged. Blackberry was actually the first to enter the smartphone market, but Steve Jobs (Apple) revolutionized the mobile phone industry; however that doesn’t mean that the company is entitled to a monopoly.

While it would be nice to say that the mobile phone industry fosters a “perfectly competitive market,” that would be an idealistic view. In reality, the market is an oligopoly with four major players-Apple, Android, Blackberry, and last/least, Windows. As is natural in any market, demand for a product will drive supply:as demand continues price will increase. Naturally, when demand for a certain product shoots up, competitors will seek to enter the market. That is exactly what occurred when Android came onto the scene in 2008. Androids entry was natural and necessary. The iphone has obviously progressed significantly, as have Android’s devices. So why now is Apple desperately trying to stop Android from releasing its newest model:the Samsung Galaxy s3?

Apple initially sued Android in 2011, stating that the company violated two of their patented features. While this is clearly debatable, why is Apple so concerned with the new Android device. Clearly they are afraid that the new Samsung Galaxy s3 (run on the ice cream sandwich operating system) will turn out to be a better product/alternative to the iphone4 and 5, which is going to be released later this year. “The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California court rejected Apple’s attempt to circumvent the legal process in order to delay the launch of the Galaxy S III. Apple must file a separate preliminary injunction motion, resulting in separate proceedings.” So, Apple’s lawsuit has been temporarily put to rest. Samsung stated that Apple’s injunction was too late, and the company would not allow it to slow down the introduction of Android’s new phone in the U.S. Personally, I think the entire lawsuit is frivolous. What is this about? Apple is scared that Android is going to dominate the smartphone market, so they file a lawsuit. Wouldn’t it be more efficient and mature for Apple to focus on innovating their existing platform and keeping up with the competition? I smell fear. What do you think? Love to hear thoughts as always. Until next time.

D. Spinelli

Will Widgets Replace Websites??

During the .com bubble people were buying up websites like they were pieces of real estate: and like the sub-prime mortgage security market, it inevitably imploded. Nowadays, websites are still teeming with activity – many of which cannot even be priced, because they are invaluable. However, these popular web pages are also cluttered with banner adds, pop-ups, etc. Plus, they’re just plainly annoying: a user has to navigate from page to page and constantly move back and forth between different links, and wait for them to load. For these reasons, I believe that widgets will soon replace websites as we have come to know them today. Widgets are constantly open and do not force a user to move back and forth between different pages. They are much easier to use, less time consuming and more aesthetically pleasing. Take Twitter, for example; When you log on to Twitter from a browser, you are forced to navigate the website and back and forth between followers and people following you. A Twitter widget would make life so much easier for the end user. It would stay securely open on your home screen and would save time and make life easier. Websites will die off, and widgets will become increasingly more useful. Thoughts?

-D. Spinelli