And here come $126 Chinese iPed and $35 Indian iPad clone. This is not to mention the not-so-an-imitation Hewlett-Packard’s Slate.
The real value Apple is creating, however, is not only encapsulated in the hardware. What matters, and cannot be imitated by competitors, is the information exchange platform AppStore through which Apple has earned sweet royalties. Furthermore, while thousands of third-party companies and developers strive their best to be profitable building applications, Apple reaps the reward and share none of the failure.
Same does Facebook. And Wii.
This is the era where hardware has become commodities and information and services bring more value. And revenue.
What other platforms are you thinking of?
Business
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360, aapl, apple, clone, competition, facebook, hp, imitation, information, ipad, iped, microsoft, nintendo, platform, playstation, service, slate, sony, wii, xbox
- It received least resistance among users among recent changes. Partly because this design leaves the feed unchanged.
- Control items were changed. The left menu gives me the immediate impression of a Microsoft Task Bar.
- The search bar is moved in between, centralizing social search and reminding me of Google. Of course, search is powered by Microsoft Bing.
- Strategic move: high-light(er) applications and games without interfering with news feed. War with Apple apps?
- Personally I like the idea of utilizing Facebook as a news reader. Apparently it can’t replace Google Reader and Twitter, but many people I care about are on Facebook, not Twitter.
Conclusion: this is what I believe a web platform should be like.
Addendum
Point (4):
Become stronger a platform for web apps. This looks like Facebook follows the path of Apple to lock-in developers.
Social Media
| app, apple, application, bing, facebook, google, microsoft, platform, search, task, web
When Yahoo! 360 closed down, I ebullient promoted WordPress and Blogger to all who wanted to find a good blogging platform.
People with professional intention stayed with WordPress & Blogger.
But one thing I had predicted and feared has come true. Those who write personal slowly & silently migrate to the uninspiring, plain and boring (*) Notes application on Facebook.
What’s the moral?
- Convenience of distribution
- Social graph matter
- Behaviors and preferences are dynamic and can be changed by a superior product
- It is when one thing becomes a daily trivial consuming good that it grows powerful. Think Facebook. Think Microsoft. Think FMCG.
(*) What many users had been complaining for the past years but they turned out users of Notes
WordPress
| 360, blogger, blogging, consumption, convenience, distribution, facebook, fmcg, How to better Wordpress writing, platform, social-graph, yahoo!
Theoretically, it is sensible for a Profile to be the center of a wide range of social features and the social platform. Just why Yahoo! has Yahoo! Profile for its Open Strategy.
Nevertheless, major updates have been realized in Yahoo! Mail.
Firstly, the front page now includes updates from a user’s connections.
Then applications start to appear in Yahoo! Mail.
It is reasonable too why Yahoo! Mail is an ideal destination for such updates. People will more likely login their inbox than in their “profile”. Plus, Yahoo! Mail being the top email service is still Yahoo!’s ace in communication. Think about profiles, why would one want to login their profile while they are having a Facebook?
After all, it’s a bit confusing as to what kind of updates I expect to see in Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! Profile. Nevertheless, should Yahoo! concentrate their efforts in just one. If so, may I suggest Yahoo! Mail?
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