Apple’s secret to market power: Lazers pew pew

Bloomberg Businessweek goes behind the scenes to reveal Apple’s secret to dominating the market through extremely tight supply-chain management and operations.

Apple convinced the seller to sign an exclusivity agreement and has since bought hundreds of [laser equipments worth $250 thousand each] to make holes for the green lights that now shine on the company’s MacBook Airs, Trackpads, and wireless keyboards.

The company locks up air freight costs and schedules far ahead the rest of the industry, giving it dominance in worldwide shipping.

Apple realized it could pack so many of the diminutive music players on planes that it became economical to ship them directly from Chinese factories to consumers’ doors. When an HP staffer bought one and received it a few days later, tracking its progress around the world through Apple’s website, “It was an ‘Oh s—’ moment,” recalls Fawkes.

That mentality—spend exorbitantly wherever necessary, and reap the benefits from greater volume in the long run—is institutionalized throughout Apple’s supply chain, and begins at the design stage.

Apple locks up parts and equipments too and as a result competitors must wait for months to manufacture their products

Before the release of the iPhone 4 in June 2010, rivals such as HTC couldn’t buy as many screens as they needed because manufacturers were busy filling Apple orders, according to a former manager at HTC. To manufacture the iPad 2, Apple bought so many high-end drills to make the device’s internal casing that other companies’ wait time for the machines stretched from six weeks to six months, according to a manager at the drillmaker.

At this point, Apple can’t afford to lose Tim Cook. There’s really nobody who could take the helm of Apple from Jobs other than his former COO. Cook is swift, clinical, and ruthless in operations but he also knows his shortcoming, products, which is why that aspect of the company goes to people like Jonathan Ive and Scott Forstall.

This tightly knit team is what makes this piece of news all the more important. Without all hands on deck, Apple would crumble and competitors will eat them. Apple may have lost a crucially important playmaker but as long as the company locks up its other MVPs, the rest of the team will fall in line.

Apple’s secret to market power: Lazers pew pew

Eric Schmidt: Google is not dominant in search

In answering questions from the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt had this to say about its search business:

I am confident that Google competes vigorously with a broad range of companies that go well beyond just Microsoft’s Bing and Yahoo, and that Google has none of the characteristics that I associate with market power.

Creepy guy indeed

Eric Schmidt: Google is not dominant in search

Losing Faith

MG Siegler on Google’s failed launch of Gmail app for iOS earlier today:

That’s maybe my biggest problem with Google. They release something, and I no longer have any faith that it’s going to be any good. It’s hard to get excited about a company like that. It’s the same reason why it’s hard to get excited when Microsoft and Yahoo release new things. The track record just isn’t there any more. The faith is gone.

I share his sentiment for the most part but I still hold hopes for Microsoft and Yahoo since they seem to be getting back on the right track albeit slowly.

Yahoo!’s releases today at Product Runway point generally to the right direction and Microsoft’s deal with Nokia for Windows Phone is beginning to show some promise even though it’s not as quick as I hoped it would be.

RIM’s stock falls below asset value

Speaking of the basket breaking, 

Apple and Google are the dominant smartphone platforms and there is really only room for one more, said Veritas’s Monga. When Nokia was reorganizing, RIM had its chance to establish itself as the third. It may have lost the opportunity, he said.

Eighteen months ago, RIM was fighting but had a fighting chance,” he said. “Now, the problems RIM has on its software platform seem to be insurmountable.

RIM’s stock falls below asset value

Microsoft and RIM are relying on a single basket

A few weeks ago I gave this interview with Media Indonesia, a local newspaper who wanted to put up a profile of me for some reason and in it was a question about Microsoft. This is a small part of what I had to say about the company:

The Surface table and the Microsoft Courier tablet were breakthrough devices between 2009-2010 which also could not get off the ground thanks to the company prioritizing the team on Windows and Office.

By coincidence, C|net produced this article yesterday about how Bill Gates practically killed the Courier tablet even when he was no longer running Microsoft. This part here explained what happened to the Courier:

Courier users wouldn’t want or need a feature-rich e-mail application such as Microsoft’s Outlook that lets them switch to conversation views in their inbox or support offline e-mail reading and writing. The key to Courier, Allard’s team argued, was its focus on content creation. Courier was for the creative set, a gadget on which architects might begin to sketch building plans, or writers might begin to draft documents.

“This is where Bill had an allergic reaction,” said one Courier worker who talked with an attendee of the meeting. As is his style in product reviews, Gates pressed Allard, challenging the logic of the approach.

It’s not hard to understand Gates’ response. Microsoft makes billions of dollars every year on its Exchange e-mail server software and its Outlook e-mail application. While heated debates are common in Microsoft’s development process, Gates’ concerns didn’t bode well for Courier. He conveyed his opinions to Ballmer, who was gathering data from others at the company as well.

Within a few weeks, Courier was cancelled because the product didn’t clearly align with the company’s Windows and Office franchises, according to sources.

Instead of seeking and taking a risk on a possible new revenue stream, Gates and Microsoft held on to its existing and proven source or revenue. This is similar to the approach that RIM took by requiring the PlayBook to be not much more than a BlackBerry accessory.

Both companies are holding on to a core component which heavily relies on the success of a single product, essentially putting everything into a single basket. This is why they keep failing to innovate. RIMs basket is breaking as we speak although it’s probably going to be a long while before Microsoft’s Windows/Office basket breaks.

Mona Simpson’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

Have had this in my Instapaper account for a couple of days but I keep forgetting to post it on the blog. In case you haven’t caught on, Mona Simpson is Steve Jobs’ sister who only found out about their relationship when she was 25. A moving and powerful eulogy.

Mona Simpson’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs

Gmail over the last couple of years

Android fan James Kendrick gives the iPhone 4S a shot

Don’t get me wrong, the Android Gingerbread interface isn’t bad, it’s just not always smooth. In just a few days with the iPhone 4S and iOS 5 I had come to expect operation to be fluid and consistent system-wide. That’s just not the case with Android, and every little interruption in smooth operation now accumulates into a feeling of frustration as I use the phone.

Android fan James Kendrick gives the iPhone 4S a shot

iPhone 4S vs Nokia N9 photo comparisons

Basically the N9 has a much more muted color dynamics. Which one is more natural? I can’t say but the photos from the 4S certainly look much more vibrant, attractive and lively. The N9 benefits from having a wide angle lens though.

iPhone 4S vs Nokia N9 photo comparisons

Breaking news on October 5, 2011. Collected, compiled, and edited by @pinot.