Obviously, this opinion has aged like milk. In the author's defense, Apple had, at the time, a remarkable history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Remember it had only been a decade since Microsoft bailed out Apple with $150M. Apple is only a juggernaut in hindsight. By 2008, Apple had built some really nice computers that had brought them back from the edge of death, and the iPod was obviously a big hit…
The massive success of the iPhone was not a foregone conclusion from day one. But it was obvious that Apple was entering the market as a serious contender with a product that had industry-wide ramifications and the highest possible visibility and awareness among its target market. There was no plausible way to believe that the iPhone would quickly flop and have zero long-term impact on the broader phone market. (Even…
Re: iPhone Doomed to Failure (2008)
#71I do agree with that. I don't think the iPhone being a flop was ever a realistic scenario. The momentum they had with the iPod alone would make it at least a modest success. I was, however, one of the people who believed Apple's strengths would not fit well in cell phone space.