Case Study 1: Apple Computer
1) What were some of Apple’s biggest successes and failures? Describe why. Apple’s biggest success stories are not difficult to find. When Apple creates a product that succeeds, they do it in a big way. Take, for example, the iPhone. Not only does the iPhone have a die-hard following of loyal aficionados that continue to buy upgrades to their iPhones on a regular basis, but the iPhone changed the way the entire world looked at cell phones. Beating the first Android phone to the market by a more than a year (Parrish, May 3, 2012), the iPhone took us from phones that looked and functioned strictly like phones, to multi-touch devices that combined phones, cameras, games and MP3s into one device. Another big success for Apple was the iPod. Even though it wasn’t the first MP3 player out there, according to The Telegraph, “Apple 's iPod arguably kick-started the digital music revolution.” due in part to the ability to create playlists and shuffle songs. It also integrates seamlessly with iTunes, another major success for Apple. iTunes allows you to purchase, categorize, store and update your music and iPod all from your own personal computer. Using iTunes enables consumers to obtain all of their music, app, television, movie and reading needs in one place—and is functional across technology platforms, allowing for more portability of a customer’s media. There are entire industries that base their product launches on the needs of iTunes, iPhone and iPod users—entertainment markets being only one of many. In fact, you can include almost any Apple offering in their “I” naming convention series as a success in one way or another! Apple has many other successes—the graphical user interface (GUI) that they pioneered for their first successful home computer, the Macintosh, changed the way we interact with computers. The iMac was a successful meshing of affordability (something not often associated with Apple products), functionality and
References: Hughes, N. (2010, July 7). Former employees shed light on Apple 's internal corporate culture. AppleInsider | News and rumors since 1997. Retrieved September 7, 2013, from http://appleinsider.com/articles/10/07/07/former_employees_shed_light_on_apples_internal_corporate_culture Merchant, N. (2010, June 14). Apple 's Startup Culture - Businessweek. Businessweek - Business News, Stock market & Financial Advice. Retrieved September 7, 2013, from http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jun2010/id20100610_525759.htm Parrish, R. (2012, May 3). Which Came First: iPhone or Android? - Apple Gazette. Apple Gazette - Your Ultimate Guide to Thinking Differently. Retrieved September 7, 2013, from http://www.applegazette.com/iphone/which-came-first-iphone-or-android/ Top 10 Apple innovations - Telegraph. (n.d.). Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. Retrieved September 7, 2013, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/picture-galleries/6099399/Top-10-Apple-innovations.html