This is a very tough question that deserves some careful thinking and lively discussions. So, the key question here is whether Apple should pursue more open systems to avoid the mistakes that Apple made in the PC industry back in 90's. There are many industry experts who draw analogy between the current smart phone market and the PC industry. But, is it right analogy? Those two markets show some similarities, for sure. Steve Jobs seems to have a different thought as in the second article: "Mr. Jobs said Apple is in a strong position in the smartphone and tablet markets and criticized the fragmentation in the smartphone business by various manufacturers based on Google Inc.'s Android software."
Link to the article: Will Apple’s Culture Hurt the iPhone?
Related article on WSJ: Apple Profit Muscles Past IBM
Another interesting point is that IBM does not think that the smart phone market is not a right game for them or actually anyone out there: "Mr. Palmisano has dismissed some of the consumer products that have driven Apple's performance—in particular, mobile devices. In a recent interview, Mr. Palmisano said he didn't wish that IBM had developed the iPad because he believes it is hard to preserve the profitability of such competitive businesses." Not every company shares the same perception about the attractiveness of the market, especially when the market is new with lots of uncertainties on consumer preference, technologies, supporting infrastructure, etc. Mr. Palmisano's comment certainly has points. But, the smartphone market is not just about hardware products, but more about the software platform, just like the operating system for PCs. One dominant platform can take it all, and, once the winning platform is "chosen," the market will be very well protected from competition, becoming a very attractive market. We'll see.
(Revised: 10/19/2010)
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