Does Apple want to be exclusive, niche again?

Thursday, Mar. 12 2009 | Author: Franky

keynote

Claims about Steve Jobs’ health and the decision of the shareholders to re-elect the Apple Board throw a weird shadow on new releases and their _special_ features such as yesterday’s iPod Shuffle update.

With every new release it seems as if the actual Apple team decides to develop less and less for Joe Average but once more opts for their own little nice, a nice of hardcore fanboys and adepts.
The iPod Shuffle headphones conundrum and choice for the glass screen for the MacBook, as well as the decision to drop FireWire on the MacBook and the solitary position of the 17″ MacBookPro seem a clear message to its userbase.

Could it be that Steve Jobs has accepted that his days as CEO are counted but wants to leave Apple, Inc. leaving a battlefield behind: at one side the shareholders who obviously expect that Apple tackles the larger market now and from the other side, the products Steve Jobs and his team want to develop.
Why would Apple decide to launch the new iMac with the small keyboard^[1] and lock itself out of the corporate culture, the world of spreadsheets?

Will the new, planned, joint single Blu-ray license be the next step of separation? Can we expect an update to the MB and MBP or will only the MBP receive a BD-RW update after summer?

Their is no doubt that the corporate structure of AAPL split is at this moment. Shareholders obviously want the company to grow, continue it’s market share growth, but does Steve Jobs have the same aim? Does Jobs want to become the next Dell, biggest computer manufacturer and seller, or continue to develop high quality niche market products for a small group of users?

One is sure, Apple lately has decided to take things in own hands again and continue to force the user to be restricted, and _follow_ as Christopher Breen notes

But I’m not the target buyer for this device. If you walk along any city street, ride a subway or bus, or wander through the local gym, you’ll see that nearly everyone uses the stock Apple earbuds. It’s not that their ears are any more ideal for these things than mine, it’s just that most people don’t care or know any better. This is what I got, this is what I’ll use.

And what they get is what Apple decides they get, is what Steve Jobs decides you get. Get on with it.

Until the re-election of the Board.