Apple takes the cake… again.

Although clichéd, when I think of entrepreneurial, the first company that comes to mind is definitely Apple Inc. With their vast array of innovative products that have consumers lining up over night during a product launch, it’s clear that Apple has been very successful.

Initially selling only Macintosh computers, Apple has grown into a company that houses iPods, iPod Touches, iPhones, and iPads. With the launch of each new product, Apple has proven that innovation is the key to their company’s continued success. Furthermore, their continued innovation has resulted in the creation of new markets as well as patented production methods.

Compared to a small business-owner, Apple strongly displays the criteria of an entrepreneur given by QuickMBA:

  1. Amount of wealth creation
  2. Speed of wealth creation
  3. Risk
  4. Innovation

There’s no doubt that Apple excels in the innovation category, but the company also began with a high level of risk involved. As one can’t predict how consumer’s tastes change, new products always run the risk of not being demanded. However, despite the expenses incurred through the first generations of each of Apple’s products, the company has exceedingly become successful in generating millions of dollars in profit in short amounts of time.

Sony vs. Apple?

With Apple’s continued success with their iPhone, Sony Corp. has finally decided to bring their longtime smartphone plans to fruition. Unbeknownst to many consumers, Sony Corp. is actually separate from its joint phone venture, Sony Ericsson. The merger will cost US 1.5 billion, “as [Sony] seeks to exploit its music and video to help catch smartphone leaders such as Apple Inc.” Sony believes that linking its resources will reduce costs and allow the company to “more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions.”

Since I didn’t know that Sony didn’t control their phone lines, I’m hesitant to see the new optimism resulting from this merger. Unless Sony places more focus on campaigning the introduction of this ‘rebirth’ (possibly with new products), I doubt that consumers’ demand would necessarily change. However, I know firsthand that they make quality goods, and this merger will improve the efficiency of their supply chain.

Despite Apple’s strong brand association with music, Sony has even deeper musical roots with their music label housing artists like Beyonce. Finally, Sony was synonymous with music during the time of Discmans and walkmans, so what’s stopping them from achieving that today.

Re: iPod

I recently read Annie Luk’s blog post on iPods, and I completely agree with her. If Apple decides to get rid of the iPod, their house of brands will significantly diminish in brand power. As she mentioned, iPhones are often seen as unnecessary (and too similar to the iTouch), while the iPad doesn’t seem convenient or practical to me. If there were no more iPods, I certainly wouldn’t be able to see myself purchasing a large touch-screen pad to fulfill my occasional need of portable music.

With Apple’s brand roots built so strongly with iPods, why should they get rid of the most portable products in their arsenal? Despite iPod sales contributing 42% less to Apple’s total revenue now, than before the launch of iTouch and iPhones , it’s still clear that many consumers wouldn’t think twice when deciding between an iPod and a Zune. At the end of the day, it often isn’t about the functionality of the product, but rather the image behind the brand itself.

Check out the article behind her post here: Should Apple kill the iPod?

Photo: Courtesy of Apple Inc  

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