Technology, Gadgets, IT, Games

Market Capitalisation is a measure of the total worth of a company – simply the cost of a share, multiplied by the number of shares. Apple today finally overtook Microsoft as the world’s largest technology company, and the second-largest company in the US.

This is no mean feat, and it is to Apple’s credit that is has dominated the smartphone market and maintained its ‘cool’ image with a wide range of customers.

For some reason, there are still many Apple fans who see Microsoft as a big evil corporation, taking away their freedoms and stealing money. Apple is actually the bigger corporation, taking away a lot more freedom, and charging hugely extortionate prices…

Examples

All Apple consumer products (Macbooks, iPods, iPhones and the iPad) prevent the user from removing or replacing the battery – you have to send your device away to Apple for them to do this, and they’ll probably charge you a lot to do this.

The iPod can only be used with iTunes, which prevents you from buying your music from any other music store. This could be construed as an abuse of market dominance. The same applies with the iPhone and iPad, which also need iTunes to be configured.

The iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch can only use applications purchase from the Apple App Store – you can’t just download an application from the web, like you can for Windows Mobile. Apple is notorious for being seemingly arbitrary and very anti-competitive in approving applications to the App Store – often banning applications from being installed on any of these devices for no reason.

Adobe Flash has been banned from the iPad. And when an employee misplaced a recent new iPhone prototype, they launched a manhunt to get it back and are pursuing legal action against everyone who handled it.

Then of course there’s the price. A Macbook Pro can cost £400 over a matching-spec laptop from HP or similar OEMs.

So what does this mean?

These don’t sound like the actions of cult, creative designers; they are the actions of a huge corporation which is dictating how its followers should live. They are abusing their status by forcing every user to use Apple for everything they do with their devices – adding software, buying music, repairs, accessories etc etc.

Does Microsoft get off scot-free? Of course not. The vast majority of the company ignores the consumer market and the huge potential in it. Threats to Microsoft’s market share in web browsers home OSs and web services are affecting the corporate environment now, with many universities running macs with gmail, and servers running some lightweight Linux distros. Although huge strides are being made to correct this, I’m still not convinced that it’s working. Today’s reshuffle of management for mobiles and gaming is probably a good start to the process of reengaging with the consumer base.

The difference with Apple is that it is still a hit with the press and the younger generation. The heavily-restricted interfaces don’t bother those who just want to use it, and the glossy white designs resonate with those who favour form over function. The media forget that other markets exist, and that an iPhone is completely useless for masses of people.

Gadget blog Engadget has been the target of an uproar from its users over its heavy coverage of Apple products and news. In a day, a third of the Engadget articles could be Apple-related – and around a product launch this rises to almost complete saturation. THey responded by creating an exclude function for their blog and RSS feeds.

A commenter on Engadget’s report today lays down the facts, with reference to Apple’s Macintosh advert from 1984, which showed Apple as the freedom fighters revolting against the IBM monopoly:

Heeeeeeere comes the new 1984! No more black, no more buttons (not even on your mouse!), no more build-your-own computer horsecrap, sharp steel edges for all wrists, form over function, SWAT teams at your door if you get ahold of a new prototype, flash is dead and gone, only one company produces all technology hardware, you HAVE to use iTunes (perhaps the scariest of all!), no user-replaceable batteries, no user-removable storage cards, no netbooks, and turtle-neck sweaters are deemed cool and stylish.

I wonder how long the illusion of ‘cool’ will last. Sure, Apple products can be pretty nice, but looking at the overall experience, the products are very restrictive and severely overpriced. It will be interesting to see whther Microsoft’s reorganisation, the upcoming Windows Phone 7, the improvements to Google’s Android or any other devices can unseat Apple’s lucrative dictatorship.