He concedes, somewhat sarcastically: “Sometimes his encouragement might seem aggressive, but apparently that’s successful in creating extraordinary products. And apparently there are lots of people who want to experience his management style, since there is no end of applicants for jobs at Apple.”
Analysts said that the launch of the iPhone 3G, at a lower price than its predecessor and being made available in 70 countries, marks Apple’s bid to break into the mass mobile market.
But as Paul Lee, analyst at Deloitte, points out, the company’s previous big hits — the Mac and iPod — were launched into nascent markets where no dominant incumbent already existed. By contrast, the world is already awash with mobile phones. Lee says: “The mobile phone market is one of the biggest in the world. Any vendor has to try to differentiate itself from competitors.”
Analysts say that, as with other products, Apple will gradually launch other cheaper, pared-down versions of the iPhone. Apple, which is on track to meet its original target of selling 10 million iPhones by the end of this year, has not given any sales targets beyond that date. But it’s unlikely the company will try to compete with the cheapest handset manufacturers, wanting customers impressed with the hi-tech iPhone to buy Apple software for the device and other products.
Charles Golvin, principal analyst at Forrester, says: “There seems to be a halo effect on Mac sales as many consumers who come into contact with other Apple products like an iPhone or iPod end up considering buying a Mac.”
When it became public, Jobs’ cancer fuelled speculation about how Apple would cope without its founder and talisman. Jobs watchers say that, notwithstanding last week’s launch, the company is trying to give more exposure to other executives. Leander says: “An Apple without Jobs would not have the same charisma or his mystique.” But as Allen sums up: “Jobs will always be the Guru for his fans.”
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