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Has Apple Peaked?

nytimes.com

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Re: Has Apple Peaked?

#51

Post by rudiger »

pkulak wrote: post #36
zaidf wrote: post #20

If I live in Manhattan and extensively use Maps for public transport info, is it true that feature no longer exists? If so, I'm going to wait before upgrading to iOS 6. Widespread blunder like this does so much to hurt the Apple brand especially in light of an ambitious competitor like Samsung. Apple should realize that even its biggest fan boys will begin rethinking if you cripple basic parts of their product repeat…

Aren't there 100 transit apps for Manhatten? Are they not as good as Google's?

Can you name one transit app for New York City that's 1) free and 2) nearly as good or better than Google Maps?

Re: Has Apple Peaked?

#52

Post by zaidf »

bas wrote: post #49
zaidf wrote: post #20

If I live in Manhattan and extensively use Maps for public transport info, is it true that feature no longer exists? If so, I'm going to wait before upgrading to iOS 6. Widespread blunder like this does so much to hurt the Apple brand especially in light of an ambitious competitor like Samsung. Apple should realize that even its biggest fan boys will begin rethinking if you cripple basic parts of their product repeat…

I also live in Manhattan. The new Maps app integrates pretty well with Embark NYC (free), and possibly other transit apps that repackage the MTA's info. Embark's website: http://letsembark.com/ App Store link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app//id450991137?mt=8

I'll give it a shot but from a user's perspective, I took for granted the ease with which I could find directions from one app using various modes(walk/drive/public transport).

Changing a basic habit for no good reason is hard--if anyone, Apple should know.

Re: Has Apple Peaked?

#53

Post by ceejayoz »

xxcode wrote: post #27

Apple will never be able to match Google in Maps. Here's why: Apple does not have any technical depth. I am a former Apple employee. Apple can't do technically hard problems that require a multi-person effort. Yes, Apple can and has done good Hardware. But hardware is not technically hard - its an art. Apple is good at Art. Google is good at science.

> Apple can't do technically hard problems that require a multi-person effort.

Making UNIX accessible to the masses wasn't a technically hard problem that required a multi-person effort?

How about Webkit?

Re: Has Apple Peaked?

#54

Post by zaidf »

rudiger wrote: post #51
pkulak wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aren't there 100 transit apps for Manhatten? Are they not as good as Google's?

Can you name one transit app for New York City that's 1) free and 2) nearly as good or better than Google Maps?

Seconded. I really like the forgiving and smart inputs of Google maps. Some of the apps take me much longer to input where I need to go while google maps knows exactly what I mean in vast majority of cases.

Re: Has Apple Peaked?

#55

Post by georgemcbay »

batista wrote: post #40
anonymouz wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While the headline is inflammatory, the article itself is not so bad. He makes some valid observation about how the market and Apple's position in it have changed, making it harder for them to be the new and innovative player as they have more and more to lose by taking risky moves. In general however I agree with your sentiment.

>While the headline is inflammatory, the article itself is not so bad. He makes some valid observation about how the market and Apple's position in it have changed, making it harder for them to be the new and innovative player as they have more and more to lose by taking risky moves. They have made the EXACT same arguments since after the iPod. The Zune was to kill it, cheap alternatives were going to kill it. Didn't…

What you're saying is true and yet at some level the current iPod/iPhone/iPad basically are all the same thing just with or without a cellular radio and/or with a different sized screen. Other than making AppleTV more than a "hobby", it is difficult to see what other "big" permutations of this theme are available for Apple to exploit (this would have been true with or without Jobs).

Meanwhile we have tablet/laptop hybrids, which Microsoft has been taking the lead on (facing a similar reaction to the early iPod, which history may or may not prove to be similarly ill-directed) and then virtually-deviceless-devices, which Google has been pushing into with their Glass project.

You can't count Apple out because of its infamous development secrecy (who knows what they might do next?), but visibly a lot of the cool potential Next Big Things in the gadget/device space seem to be forming at non-Apple companies.

Re: Has Apple Peaked?

#56

Post by smoyer »

I have a Powerbook G3 Wallstreet that's still running (and the battery still holds a charge) after almost 15 years and I have an iPad I use extensively for reading. Until last month, I used Ubuntu on everything and now that I have a MacBook, I'm not sure why there has been such a fuss over OSX. I'm probably moving back to Ubuntu. I also have an Android phone that I wouldn't trade for an iPhone.

I don't love or hate Apple (or Microsoft for that matter) but I think if Apple is indeed on the down-slope it has nothing to do with the maps application. My beef with both Apple and Microsoft (locking the hardware so I can't use it for other purposes is pretty shady) is that devices I used to be able to peer into layer-by-layer (if I so choose) are now completely opaque. You've essentially reduced an advanced user to the same state of novice-hood as the general population. No thanks!

EDIT - But it just works! I hear that from so many people and it just isn't true. The suite of tools I generally use have the same issues on all three platforms so the only distinguishing characteristic is whether I can actually fix it.

Re: Has Apple Peaked?

#57

Post by walkon »

bigtones wrote: post #39
xxcode wrote: post #27

Apple will never be able to match Google in Maps. Here's why: Apple does not have any technical depth. I am a former Apple employee. Apple can't do technically hard problems that require a multi-person effort. Yes, Apple can and has done good Hardware. But hardware is not technically hard - its an art. Apple is good at Art. Google is good at science.

Wow - did you work at the Apple Store, because that comment is very short sighted. In terms of technical problems that require multi-person effort, OSX is a testament to that, as is Motion, Logic Pro and Compressor. All those are highly technical pieces of software that lead their respective markets. To say Apple can't "do" technically hard problems is extremely short sighted.

OSX does not lead the market.

Re: Has Apple Peaked?

#58

Post by lttlrck »

Why didn't they publish this two weeks ago... oh right...

IOS is in refinement, the focus internally is elsewhere.

The iPhone came from nowhere (just ask Nokia) and so will the next big thing.

Of course it might flop, but basing any long-term Apple analysis on IOS5 and iPhone 5 is very short-sighted.

Re: Has Apple Peaked?

#59

Post by Kilimanjaro »

No, it hasn't peaked. iPhone peaked, just like iPod peaked. But make no mistake, Apple is in a favorable position to be the 'american Sony' for decades to come.

Apple TV? Apple watch? Apple console?

Who knows, but whatever comes next, Apple will deliver.

Re: Has Apple Peaked?

#60

Post by illicium »

ceejayoz wrote: post #53
xxcode wrote: post #27

Apple will never be able to match Google in Maps. Here's why: Apple does not have any technical depth. I am a former Apple employee. Apple can't do technically hard problems that require a multi-person effort. Yes, Apple can and has done good Hardware. But hardware is not technically hard - its an art. Apple is good at Art. Google is good at science.

> Apple can't do technically hard problems that require a multi-person effort. Making UNIX accessible to the masses wasn't a technically hard problem that required a multi-person effort? How about Webkit?

>WebKit Is originally a fork of KHTML and is an open-source effort that MANY companies contribute to.
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