Falling Far From the Tree

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Fortune - Apple's $300 Million Gray Market Dilemma
AppleInsider - Steve Jobs to Apple investors: 'hang in there'
Gizmodo - First Proof Apple Making Near Zero on AppleTV (And Big Bucks on iTunes)


Looking out on the tech world today, I see one article about slashed prices on one big Apple product, another article about a gray market problem on another big Apple product (and possible slashed prices in the future), and a "please let us keep your money" letter from Steve Jobs. This Apple is falling far from the tree lately.

For a company that is supposedly on the cutting edge of consumer tech, there have been so many obvious features omitted from several products debuted in recent years.

• For starters, the iPhone was debuted, surprisingly, without 3G support, and didn't initially support any 3rd party software.
• Furthermore, Apple TV had to go through a re-launch after an embarrassed Apple acknowledged that the first version didn't work out. We knew that iTunes did not have a selection of HD content for Apple TV, but what about the other shortcomings? Why release a product like Apple TV with no optical drive?
• And then, there is the MacBook Air. It's obvious to many that this new product is missing more than an optical drive. End users can't even replace the battery.

It's no stretch to assume that these missteps have indirectly contributed to the recent free-fall of Apple's stock price, down $65/share (roughly 32%) over the last month.

The point I'm trying to make is that, while Apple and Jobs seem to be laden with an uncanny sense for creating those gadgets that consumers didn't even know they needed, there have been surprising oversights in their product releases. Too many popular, and sometimes necessary, features have been missing on their new products. These latest stories about subsidizing Apple TV and gray market iPhones seem to be pointing to one idea - Apple either has to shape up and read the tea leaves better before releasing new products, or they must embrace a more open model of production. The current closed model seems to make every move too much of a make-or-break moment - it's too risky. It may still survive for a while to come, but in order for that to happen, Apple's got to put better features on it's "it" products.