On Thu, Mar 21, 2002 at 10:53:06AM -0800, Hal Widlansky wrote:
> Anyway, it seems to me that his killing of the Newton was more a part of his
> (successful) attempt so simplify Apple's product offering and streamline the
> market presence, moves that helped move Apple back into profitability.
well, to my way of thinking, you've got part of it right. Steve did
simplify and streamline. Apple, and the rest of the computing world, is
much better off for his scaling back products and services.
BUT
Newton, Inc. was out the door by then, right? Wasn't it Jobs that
brought Newton Inc back IN to the fold, shut the door, and killed them
rather than allowing them to succeed or (far less likely) fail on their
own?
I have to think that the end-of-line for the Newton was more about Steve
blindly killing Scully's project than a good business move. And, given
the proliferation of PDAs since then, i think we can all agree that
Apple should have (re)entered the PDA market by now, if this was all
about good business decisions. There's gotta be something else here.
BUT
By bringing Newton Inc back into the Apple family before cutting them,
Steve has retained the necessary technology for a good entry, when its
time. Newton Inc should be ruling the PDA world by now. Apple can come
in with an 'iWalk' or something, but they're now late to the game,
superior tech or no.
(however, that's not going to stop me from eager anticipation of a new
Newton-esque device...)
-- eWhen the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.
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