2009 has been one of the trickiest years in Apple's recent history - lawsuits to the left and right, Steve Jobs' enforced hiatus and rumbling of discontent over the App Store and much, much more.
We're going to put forward the evidence for the prosecution and defence in TechRadar's kangaroo court.
Is Apple guilty of losing the plot? These arguments for the prosecution and defence can help you decide.
1. Mac clones
The prosecution
Apple is currently embroiled in a bitter courtroom battle with Psystar - a Mac clone maker which argues that the Mac operating system should be set free to run on any platform - and that anyone should be able to make a Mac, not just Apple.
PSYSTAR: When is a Mac not a Mac?
A free and fair market for Mac clones would deliver better value for money for consumers, and would make the Mac software available on a wider variety of computers – addressing demand among some PC users for a high quality, low cost alternative to Windows.
Apple would also benefit from opening up the Mac platform to third-parties. It would be able to grow market share for the Mac, it would spur innovation and competitiveness and would satisfy demand for cheap Macintosh computers, leaving Apple to retain its status as a premium computer maker.
The defence
Apple is not now, and never has been, a software company – it's a hardware company.
The software it makes, good as it is, is really a means to an end. Customers get hooked on the user experience and so buy the hardware – Mac, iPhone, iPod and so on.
In doing that Apple has been able to carve out a small, but growing niche for itself as a premium computer and consumer electronics maker. And it's very happy to keep on doing so. The last time it licensed Mac clones in the mid-1990s, it proved disastrous for the company – it leeched hardware sales away to lower cost rivals and was one of the reasons Apple nearly went to the wall.
If Psystar wins, it could well be the beginning of the end for Apple as a hardware company and everything than follows from that. Hardware companies like Dell may have expressed interest in Mac OS X in the past, but Apple's vertically integrated business model works very well – it doesn't have to support a bewildering variety of third-party and legacy hardware like Microsoft does.
It can deliver a complete platform where every component (hardware and software) has been designed to work well together. If you don't like it, don't buy a Mac. There are plenty of other PC makers out there.
2. The App Store
The prosecution
It's a mess. Apple appears to be making policy on the hoof, approving some apps, while denying others - the current row over Google Voice being a case in point. All of this would be avoidable if Apple stopped insisting on being a monopolistic gatekeeper and enabled anyone to develop software for the iPhone and iPod touch - and then let them sell those apps on the open market.
Instead, Apple insists on taking 30 per cent of anything developers make, and coming up with an arcane approvals process only it understands.
Apple uses open source when it suits its own business practices, but denies access to those who want to do the same. Result? A thriving hacking community that Apple has to play a pointless game of cat-and-mouse with.
The structure of the App Store also makes it difficult for developers to get their apps under customers' noses - many simply vanish without a trace unless you know to ask for it by name using the Search option.
The defence
Some of the arguments presented by the prosecution are fair, but let's look at it another way. From the moment the iPhone was launched in January 2007, Apple CEO Steve Jobs argued that the iPhone should be a 'closed' platform, chiefly so users wouldn't have to put up with badly programmed apps that stopped their phones from working properly.
Since then Apple has made several concessions to developer and consumer demand - first by opening up the iPhone to third-party web apps, and then by enabling developers that could be developed for the iPhone under a strict approvals process that tries to ensure standards, while delivering a good user experience.
ALL GO: Spotify is one of many third-party apps that Apple has approved for the iPhone
Apple didn't have to do this. The overwhelming success of the iPhone – and the enthusiasm of developers and customers for it has inevitably caused some problems, but Apple is learning fast.
Last week it approved 1,400 apps for use on the iPhone in a single day, and it has granted approval to apps that compete, in some cases, with its own business offerings.
This way of working has been so successful, it's already been copied by RIM with its BlackBerry store, Palm and Microsoft. Google's business model for Android is different. If you don't like the way Apple works, don't complain about it – go get a Google phone instead.
Your comments (10) Click to add a new comment
lovlid
October 2nd 2009
10. "isn't "defense" the correct & appropriate spelling?"
defence - proper English.
defense - Guess who?.
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trevgc
October 2nd 2009
9. So if Apple is a hardware company first then that would explain why they don't give a tosh about security in the os. But in my opinion I think macs are overpriced and overrated. For that matter I would be interested in a nano iphone but seeing the prices of the iphone, sounds like its apple pie in the sky.
Oh is apple the only one allowed to monopolise its market share like no one is allowed to sync a mobile device to sync with itunes, and as for apps store if it creates competition then you arent allowed to sell it on apps store. Odd how these companies arent cry about it; maybe apple dont have enough money for them to sue them. If it was Microsoft we all know it would be a different story sue sue sue.
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lovlid
October 2nd 2009
8. "We shouldn't be trying to force Apple to support a load of **** hardware and tarnish the excellent user experience we currently get!"
Are you saying every pc is ****? and every component is ****?. Aren't some of these components in macs? Does that make macs a little bit ****?
boy11a. Did they teach English at your school?
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noahfingway
October 2nd 2009
7. isn't "defense" the correct & appropriate spelling?
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healeydave
October 1st 2009
6. We don't need all companies to be the same.
When I was younger, I liked throwing a load of bits together and ending up with a PC, however these days I prefer a quality built product that has been thoroughly tested to work with its accompanying software!
I don't want all that incompatibility and reliability issues so now I choose Apple products.
People should be left to choose which way they want to go.
We shouldn't be trying to force Apple to support a load of **** hardware and tarnish the excellent user experience we currently get!
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_ande_turner_
October 1st 2009
5. "Apple is not now, and never has been, a software company – it's a hardware company." followed by "The last time it licensed Mac clones in the mid-1990s,..." seems somewhat contradictory.
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noexpert
September 30th 2009
4. Lost The Plot?
This is not the real story of Apple in 2009. This year will see Apple have their most profitable year ever, with 10 million Mac sales on top of dozens of millions iPhones. All this during a recession.
The PC assemblers will likely see further decline in their profits and overall margins and blame it on Vista and the recession. Both are valid reasons however.
Apple does not seek world dominance like Microsoft, nor does it seek to be a niche player. What it sells it does so on merit, therefore the customer base and market share it gains will inevitably be the best slice of the market to have in terms of customer spending power.
The Pystar saga is a distraction only and Pystar's defence has no real legal merit, advanced as it is by no win no fee lawyers seeking fame at any cost.
Apple products are consistently in the topmost tiers of customer satisfaction surveys. Stories of exploding phones and melting iPods are greatly sensationalised by the press in order to sell newspapers. By pretending such instances as widespread when the reality is only very rarely do such things happen and then often after the item has been damaged by impact.
The App Store is not a mess. Policy is certainly being made on the hoof, it has to be because there is no manual explaining how to run an App Store. The App Store is a new innovation. There are those who think all iPhone Apps should be accepted to the store regardless of merit. Any business with a worldwide reputation to uphold cannot do that. Surely that fact is incontestable. Does your favourite commercial TV or Radio station or Newspaper accept all kinds of advertising and story line regardless of content and purpose? Thought not!
The Prosecution have been guilty here of falsifying evidence and spreading disinformation.
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hss1
September 30th 2009
3. alot of the issues with faulty products is customers abusing their product especially laptops, ipods, iphone. eg dropping, leaving on a bed to overheat.
Never had any issue with any electrical item ever
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boy11a
September 30th 2009
2. As a lover of everything apple I think they shoud keep up the very capabale & absoluatly brilliant job they are doing that company i don't even want to say there name but it begins with m & a very small m that is would love to have the sales apple does & there stores they are rumered to be opening cloned apple stores right next to each other that's how mutch they admire them here to the next iPhone & the next mac book pro i love mine & my macworld mag
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ripsnorter
September 30th 2009
1. As a commited Macuser I have to agree with quite a few points made by the prosecution. Although I would still vote the company 'Not guilty' I think Apple is slipping behind the curve and needs to pull out something more than an iPod Nano with camera - fast! A netbook or tablet computer would be a very good start, as would the core Powermac in a variety of cases and colours, the adoption of Blu-ray and an update of the iMac beyond tweaking the processor speed.
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