Why is Apple Cute?

I wrote this post two years ago. Apple was the "media darling 2006". It was the iPod that made Apple appear as the innovator. The company also attracted more new Apple Computer and laptop users.

Why is Apple Cute?

"Apple’s been in the news quite a bit lately. Nowadays, Apple is a media darling. The critics like the company’s direction, and so does Wall Street. But it wasn’t always so. This summer marked the tenth anniversary of Apple’s lowest point–a time in 1996 when the company’s profits and products were hitting bottom. (Steve Jobs’s return to the company he founded was still a year away.)," Write's Pogue in his New York Times blog. Find more about the Apple blog here.

Helge 2008: A year ago apple announced the iPhone. The Apple Smart Phone was a huge success 2007 in USA. Not so big in Europe, but what Steven Jobs said about the post-PC era starting with the iPhone might be a statement that we need go back to in the coming yeas. I'm still a laptop man. I need a big screen and an ergonomic keyboard.

I can find parallels to the Apple Cinderella story here in Finland as well. Nokia wasn't the best of companies in the early 90's. Satama Interactive has been going through difficult times, but has received good publicity in the last weeks. Start-ups are very vulnerable in the early stages of development. We've been addicted with success stories and would like to read more and more about the good things. All companies go through good and bad times. All quarters aren't pure and linear growth in earnings, rising stock prices and new successful product launches. Companies need to live through the times they travel on the dark side of the moon.

Helge 2008: Nokia is the Finnish Cinderella. Or should I say "the mobile phone giant"? It's not fair to compare it to the Cinderella Apple making cute and elegantly designed high-end niche products. Nokia is an incredibly effective production and distribution machine. We're probably again this year seeing that Nokia's transition from traditional smart phones to smart and slick one's with bigger screens is going to take longer than for some of its competitors. Nokia has to do some catching up. What Apple started has been followed by Samsung and others. Texas Instrument is indicating that there is a change in the market. Nokia isn't selling as well as it used to? We don't know for sure, yet...