apple

Discussion in 'hardware' started by chris45, Sep 22, 2010.

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  1. chris45

    chris45 Registered Member

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    i read that apple doesnt allow 3rd party vendors to manufacturer hardware for their computers and cellphones but why? cant they see this is killing them and is why microsoft is more popular
     
  2. aigle

    aigle Registered Member

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    I think they are very smart.

    Apple mainly a hardware company
    MS mainly a software company

    Apple has less issues and headaches( compatibility, conflicts etc) as they control their hardware and software tightly. Their revenue is more than MS I think. So it,s not killing them at all.
     
  3. NoIos

    NoIos Registered Member

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    Actually this is their core marketing strategy and business model: You run what we like/approved on hardware we have put in your machine. And actually this strategy works...activating special areas in the brain of humans...that buy apple products :D .

    They're still around and they're growing. So the facts say that their strategy does not kill them. It does not allow them to have a huge clients base ( Iphone/Ipod excluded ) but this is not always desirable. They have decided to earn more money from less people. So they have more profits in comparison to other companies that sell more but have a smaller profit margin.
     
  4. YeOldeStonecat

    YeOldeStonecat Registered Member

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    They tried allowing 3rd party hardware/resellers twice (at least) in the past, and kept going back to their current model because apparently it didn't work for them.

    It's generally worked well for them, they've had higher hardware standards which gives their PCs better reliability. Versus "WIntel"...Windows/Intel computers..where "any piece of hardware" is allowed to run Windows...even bargain basement pieces of junk selling for 499 with 1 year warranties at best. Whereas if you compare good solid quality business grade WIntel computers...units built with quality components, 3 year warranties, you'll find their reliability is at least equal to Apples...because now you're comparing similar grade hardware. And you'll find the price is up there with Apples..which is why most people don't bother looking at quality WIntel machines like this, the price scares them away, and they "think" they're getting similar stuff for $499 (or pretty much anything under 1,000)
     
  5. chris45

    chris45 Registered Member

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    does apple allow 3rd party software on their machines? even on their cellphones
     
  6. firzen771

    firzen771 Registered Member

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    of course they do, and on their iphone have u not heard of the appstore? apple sure doesnt make all those apps.
     
  7. chris45

    chris45 Registered Member

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    yes but do they need approval from apple to make the 3rd party software and apple can only provide it to their users hence the appstore for their cellphones?
     
  8. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    Are you aware apple is worth more than m$ now?

    I'm not pleased by m$ nor apple.

    I'm into Linux.
     
  9. firzen771

    firzen771 Registered Member

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    im not sure if thats the same for apple computers, because i know u can download mac compatible programs from anywhere on the intner and install them, so i think thats only an iOS thing

    not completely, microsofts revenue is still much higher than Apple's as well as its total assets which far exceeds apple, only thing atm is apple's stocks are worth more, microsoft is still a far larger company with more profit
     
  10. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    Initially, you could only buy hardware or software for your Apple from Apple. Then they started to allow 3rd party vendors. Note that Apples support many USB devices and they also run Microsoft Windows and Office.

    They do not need approval. It is your computer, you can run what you want on it. But if a company wants it "certified" then they have to submit the program or hardware to Apple, pay them to test and certify, then it can be approved. Note this is the same with Windows 7 certifications.

    That depends on how you look at it. Determining the value of a company by the cost of 1 share is not a valid determination, nor is it a valid criteria for comparing two companies. You have to look at the total value of all the shares. By far, Microsoft is worth MUCH more than Apple and earns MUCH more than Apple - Fortune 500. If you look at profits, Microsoft at #36 earned more than Wal-mart at #1.

    Apple's rise is due mostly to the iPod and iPhone - not their computers. And it is important to note that Microsoft is, first and foremost a software company while Apple is primarily a hardware company. So they are not really in the same industry - unless you lump them together under IT (which consists of many, many industries).
     
  11. YeOldeStonecat

    YeOldeStonecat Registered Member

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    There's lots of 3rd party, non-Apple software, that you can run on Apples.
    Adobe Photoshop...back years ago when Apples were much preferred for graphics, design workstations that used products such as Adobe Photochop.

    You can get Microsoft Office for the Apple OS.

    Many museums use ticketing software that runs on Apples

    Games....back in the Win3x/95 days an Apple version of a first person shooter was a game named Marathon...made by a company called Bungie Software...which is now well known by the popular XBox game HALO.
     
  12. anandee

    anandee Registered Member

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    Apple and Microsoft have a very different business model.

    Microsoft wants to be ubiquitous and monopolistic, i.e. even with a clear monopoly in desktop and office markets they invest and sell software for Apple, try to seriously enter server/webserver markets, now they are entering cloud computing and web serach markets.
    They have some big cash cows like Windows and Office, and reinvest most of the cash flow to flood other markets where they are not the top dog (XBox, Windows Server, Windoes Phone, Bing...).

    Apple (or, I'll rather say, Steve Jobs) wants to be elitist, and focuses more on users than on competitors.
    They plays in almost all markets like Microsoft, i.e. desktop and server with OSX, music/entertainment with iPod/iTunes, iPhone etc.
    They have a smaller market share as absolute value, and even if in some markets they are the first brand they seldom reach the level of monopoly that MS have on the wintel market.
    They does not aim to build some monopolies like MS, but rather to keep high the revenue of the products they sell, and to do this they need to control the entire product, I mean from the hardware up to the operating system and best selling software and the most used content distribution platform for their products.
     
  13. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    since the transition to intel the components inside mac's are the same as a pc.
    you pay a premium for apple products not because they are better made but simply due to the brand. OSX isnt even that great. £900 for the imac with laptop componants and not even high end laptop componants.
    the only way to get decent graphics card is to pay for the mega expensive mac pro and the graphics card options still arent that good. For less than half that cost you can get a decent pc with high end graphics, tons of ram high end processer etc.
    OSX has quite a short life cycle as well.
    how many ipod's break after around 18months just before the warranty ends?
    you pay around £300 and end up with an overpriced paperweight.


    the current iphone you cant make a call without holding it in a certain way because its poorly made.
     
    Last edited: Sep 27, 2010
  14. YeOldeStonecat

    YeOldeStonecat Registered Member

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    They've been same brands under the hood for a long time...but Apple puts in better quality models. Lets keep it simple and use a hard drive as an example. Crack open an Apple and yes you'll see a Seagate or Fujitsu (or whatever brand got the contract that month)...and it will be at least a medium or high grade model. Usually one with a 3 year or higher warranty.

    Sticking with hard drives as an example...most brands make 3 grades of models, *entry level...1 year warranty, low MTBF rating
    *mid-range/business grade, 3 year warranty, higher MTBF rating
    *Enterprise class, 5 year warranty, very high MTBF rating usually over 1.2 million hours.

    Apple tends to stick with midrange or higher components inside. If you compare a WIntel with similar components, you'll find a similar price. But most people tend to compare an entry level piece of crap 1 year home grade model WIntel (with cheap components inside) against an Apple..and walk away saying "Apples are so much more expensive". But in fact, they're not comparing (forgive the analogy) apples to apples here. Had they gone out and spec'd a WIntel machine with similar class hardware inside...they'd indeed find the price is quite close.;)

    And the iPhone "antenna-gate" fiasco...it's not because it's poorly "made"..it's because the antenna type/setup was poorly "designed".
     
  15. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    No! You're about 10 years out of date, at least in terms of MS being monopolistic. Apple is actually the one that. For years, it forced its users to buy only from Apple. Whether it be the computer itself, hardware upgrades, peripherals, or software, you HAD to buy it from Apple (at higher prices). No options! There have always been options to Microsoft products.

    Microsoft, on the other hand, learned its lesson after Congress and the EU threatened to break it up. Now Microsoft is welcoming and supports open source development. 3rd party browsers and search engines can easily be made the defaults.

    As far as Microsoft's desire to be everywhere, sure! That's the desire of EVERY company in EVERY industry - and there's nothing wrong with that. As long as consumers are not forced to buy only one brand because the competition was illegally pushed out, then that's just good business.
     
  16. twl845

    twl845 Registered Member

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    Are Mac's made in China?
     
  17. firzen771

    firzen771 Registered Member

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    yes, as are most
     
  18. Bill_Bright

    Bill_Bright Registered Member

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    They may be assembled here in the US, but surely most of the parts are made in China, Taiwan, or some other country.
     
  19. firzen771

    firzen771 Registered Member

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    maybe, but ipods are made in china as are ipads, so id assume that the mac's would probly be made in China as well.
     
  20. SweX

    SweX Registered Member

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    Most of the iMacs comes from a factory in Shanghai.
     
  21. twl845

    twl845 Registered Member

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    As most are made in China as well as Mac's, then they're pretty much all the same. SSDD If they could stamp "Made in USA" on their chassis THAT would make them special.
     
  22. firzen771

    firzen771 Registered Member

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    well im content knowing that my laptop was at least assembled outside of China (happens to be USA) idk where the individual parts came from, but its most likely China since ud be hard pressed to find parts made elsewhere
     
  23. anandee

    anandee Registered Member

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    Sorry, no offense nor accusation intended in the term monopolistic as I intended to use in my sentence.
    What I wanted to say was that the strenght of MS is still largely (but no longer solely) based on Wintel desktop market where there is still a largely dominant position, even if we count OSX machines' market share.
    If we look to OSes market share on servers, webservers, smartphones, ultraportable devices, embedded appliances etc... we don't see any market with a player with a dominance comparable to Windows in the desktop segment, and this is certainly a strong competitive point for MS strategies.
    On the other hand I higlighted the fact that MS is updating its business model in order to spread its interests in more markets, and even in this I didn't intended any negative judgement about this (quite common) strategy.
     
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