... and so the pressure builds on Apple to diversify, which is what killed it last time. Really Apple needs to invent and come up with something special, but as SJ would tell you - which idea do you pick?
Does it? It may not ship the units that Samsung ships but it makes far more money off the smaller number of units it does sell.
The reality is that Apple were the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world for one quarter. It would be more accurate to view the fact that they were (briefly) number one as a blip rather than see it as a major title they lost and something they need to react to.
That seems to show total profit of Apple from Q2 of 2011. See http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/04/20Apple-Reports-Seco... "The Company posted record second quarter revenue of $24.67 billion and record second quarter net profit of $5.99 billion" and compare that number to the latter graph on the page you posted.
Or am I reading this wrong? I know nothing about finances, so it very well might be that case that I just don't understand what I read.
So, again, how much does Apple and Samsung make money from mobile phones?
What nearly killed Apple last time was a bad supply chain that resulted in ridiculously expensive desktops full of non-commodity parts. This time they're actually equipped to compete with efficient manufacturers, which is why their dystopian policies worry me now.
Killed it last time? sooo it had nothing to do with Microsoft , Windows 95, and the arrival of the internet?
The 90s house hold computing boom left Apple completely out of the equation, the couldn't compete on any level. Jobs turned that around by competiting where MS couldn't, with hardware and usability (through lock in).
in what way is the pressure building? they are still very successful, and i don't see anything to indicate that their current strategy won't remain successful for a long time to come.
The reality is that Apple were the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world for one quarter. It would be more accurate to view the fact that they were (briefly) number one as a blip rather than see it as a major title they lost and something they need to react to.