P redictions, predictions; it has become somewhat of a tradition for industry pundits and rumor sites to gaze into crystal balls, or consult with nameless insiders and offer up prognostications in prelude to Steve Jobsi keynote at Macworld; and why not? As Hiawatha Bray, of the Boston Globe, said in a recent article, "...When Jobs begins to speak tomorrow morning, executives of the worldis biggest computer and consumer electronics firms will be paying attention."
While we are waiting for Mr. Jobs to reveal to a waiting world the next great iThingi, many wonder if any of the attention Apple gets during these and other events will turn into market share, and perhaps more importantly, dollars. Mr. Bray asks the same question and gets some interesting answers in his article titled "Will Appleis innovations and influence ever translate into market share?" Hereis a excerpt:
Thatis remarkable, considering that Apple holds less than 5 percent of the worldis personal computer market, and is dwarfed by rivals like Microsoft Corp., Dell Computer Corp., and Japanese electronics titan Sony.
But market share is one thing, mindshare quite another. Under Jobs, Apple has positioned itself as the "thought leader" of Americais high-technology sector, winning a reputation as one of the worldis most innovative firms.
"I think the reason here is really extremely simple. They make really good stuff," said Josh Bernoff, principal analyst for Forrester Research in Cambridge. "In order for them to compete in a Microsoft-dominated world, they have to create products that are just outstanding."
Read Hiawatha Brayis full article at the Boston Globe Web site.