back to article Netgear CEO says 'closed' Apple is doomed

Apple CEO Steve Jobs' insistence on a closed iOS platform is dragging his company down, dooming it to be overtaken by Google Android, according to the chairman and CEO of... Netgear. "Once Steve Jobs goes away, which is probably not far away, then Apple will have to make a strategic decision on whether to open up the platform …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Joke

    "One possible additional inspiration for Lo's outburst: envy. As of Monday morning, Netgear's market capitalization was $1.23bn. Apple's was $310.61bn."

    It could be that most people will actually *want* an iPhone over an Android, or some will prefer an Andirod or Windows 7.

    What's Netgear's differentiation ? How have they led the industry ? Is Netgear trashing Liinksys ?

    Lo got some publicity, now he needs to grow up.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Interesting

      Netgear seem to be active in this space - 3 thumbs down for the above comment - and thumbs up for comments that follow praising Netgear. Lots of fans or a savvy PR department that are monitoring news feeds and coordinating responses - credit to them for this.

  2. Andy Watt
    Thumb Down

    Idiot.

    Netgear: purveyors of some of the worst third-party produced rebranded unreliable plastic crap on the planet. His little rant sounds like the usual cry of the old guard, another one who thinks he can see black Swans coming because he's seen it all before. Wonder what other companies and products he's written off while netgear took the piss out of consumers with routers which die after 12 months, USB wifi sticks which don't get driver updates any more...

    I don't listen to dinosaurs like this. Closed mindedness is more dangerous than closed platforms. Thinking you know how it's going to turn put is hubris, and it always stinks!

    1. Swoop
      Thumb Up

      In defence of Netgear

      Netgear unreliable? Plastic? Not in my experience! I have some of their kit on our factory site and have found it extremely reliable and durable. Never had a piece of Netgear kit fail. As for it being "plastic", all my kit is steel-cased and looks and feels like it could stop a .44 round.

  3. JaitcH
    FAIL

    Jobs is trying to prove history doesn't repeat itself

    There are nuggets of truth in what Patrick Lo espoused, irrespective of his business affiliations. Apple, when Jobs was ever involved, has always tried to suppress it's openness and interconnectedness. It has suffered as a result.

    And whether Jobs likes it, or not, this world is increasingly interconnected. And that 'interconnectedness' is assuming proportions never before, by many, be it in manufacturing, service or domestic markets.

    Whoever thought a washing machine would talk to an electricity meter before commencing a heavy wash cycle? Software updates for automobiles through the InterNet, etc.

    A closed environment might be a a profitable one for Jobs, ever noted the disproportionate costs of Apple connectors, but how many ATM's run on any Apple software whereas the MS Blue Screen of Death appears all over the place. How many embedded controllers run Jobs software?

    Apple, a public company, is run like a private one with, seemingly, one man determining it's policies and practices. This might be successful in the short-term but even the Apple shareholders are questioning Jobs practices. And they would like a share of the riches, too, after all it is there money that put Apple where it is today.

    Jobs might be innovative but others can run rings around his Walled Garden. He might have developed the smartphone market but now Apple is losing it. Ignoring all inputs other than sales, Android is now ahead of iOS and it was a late starter. Android starts off with a rich choice of software options whereas Apple adds them year after year - scoring additional sales along the way.

    P.S. If you don't like Netgear range extenders, try TP-Link. TP-Link equipment can *really* be extended by downloading 'patches' that some independent developers have devised.

    1. Baudwalk
      Thumb Up

      Extensible TP in the loo?

      Hat's off to you, sir, for finding a real product as the perfect response to "At-home iPad fans taking their fondleslabs into the loo."

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      thehawk

      Which rock do you live under?

      How, exactly, has Apple suffered in the last few years?

      Why should Apple be interested in running ATMs or embedded controllers?

      And how are the shareholders not getting some of the riches?

      1. .stu

        The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

        "And how are the shareholders not getting some of the riches?"

        Because they don't get dividends, they only get their "riches" when they sell the shares. And once the markets think the share price has peaked, they will want to get out en masse.

    3. Hans 1
      Boffin

      Short term?

      >This might be successful in the short-term but even the Apple shareholders are questioning Jobs practices.

      How is 11 years and still counting short term, especially seeing the company is among the top 5 by market cap and third computer seller in the world (by number of units shipped) ? Or what do you mean? Taken your pills today?

      >And they would like a share of the riches, too, after all it is there money that put Apple where it is today.

      Shareholders & dividends? WTF, read my many posts on that subject - dividends are source of all evil.

      >A closed environment might be a a profitable one for Jobs, ever noted the disproportionate costs of Apple connectors, but how many ATM's run on any Apple software whereas the MS Blue Screen of Death appears all over the place. How many embedded controllers run Jobs software?

      Now you are gonna say that Windows is open?

      Who other than open source wants the embedded controllers, ever heard of "low margin"?

      Apple does not want OS X/iOS to run on ATM's, embedded devices or other such crap. They design and sell luxury computers.

      Take your pills and go to bed, the doctor's on his way.

      1. Tempest
        Unhappy

        "They design and sell luxury computers."

        What is a 'luxury' computer?

        Apples latest products are little different to competitors in the various fields they operate in by way of components, construction or appearance. The reason that many are made in the same Chinese factories and naturally a technique that's good for one product is good for another.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Welcome

          Luxury

          What competitors make laptops out of aluminium? And what company makes laptops that are as nicely designed as Apple's? I bought my first MacBook Pro a year ago, and it is by far the best built machine I have ever used. It is a luxury to use! No plastic HP or Dell covered in stickers comes close.

          You say that Apple's products are no different in construction or appearance that competitors' products. Which competitors do you mean exactly?

          Long live Apple's expensive laptops! Luxury comes at a price.

    4. David Kelly 2

      Nuggets of Truth

      To tell a good lie you have to lace it with nuggets of truth.

  4. Robert E A Harvey

    In the end we are all doomed

    It doesn't matter where you end up, it matters how you got there.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    Fair enough

    He has a point I suppose but I don't see Cisco complaining about closed systems and lots of other multi-million dollar device manufacturers are happy to keep things their way and still turn massive profits. I think Android is far superior to the simplicity of Apple stuff, but that's the geek in me. The high-street shopper in me wants, fast, simple and shiny gadgets like Apple that don't need much effort to use!

    No matter how much these people bang about it, in the end the shopper's out there in internet land will decide based on their interests and what their mates have shown them. Apple have cachet, no amount of banging on about Android from geeks like us will really change that. The average phone buyer will go with what they want, regardless of the technical details that we geeks pick at.

    I'm not defending Jobs, just looking at things from the average punter's point of view, which in the end is what brings in the green.

  6. Syren Baran
    Joke

    Lo profiting

    from iPads in the loo.

    Makes sense.

  7. niya blake

    Up next

    SCO calling MS a patent troll and a company with no vision.

  8. James O'Shea
    Jobs Halo

    Apple: doomed?

    Apple has _always_ been doomed, according to some. I'm a proud owner of not one but _two_ of these teeshirts <http://store.dieselsweeties.com/products/i-was-a-mac-user-when-apple-was-doomed-shirt>. I've heard this before. Many, many, many times. My fav 'Apple is doomed' quote is _still_ Michael Dell's "return the money to the stockholders" quote. (How's that working for you, there, Mickey?) There's a website somewhere around which used to count "Apple is doomed" predictions; I stopped going there after the doom count hit five dozen. And, frankly, every time I hear some other IT exec say that Apple is doomed, I check my stock portfolio and dump any stock I have in his company and use the money to buy more Apple stock.

    Someone wake me up when Apple goes tits-up, for real, or in 10 years, whichever comes first.

  9. Frank Bitterlich
    Pint

    Another entry for...

    ... the Apple Death Knell:

    http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/death_knell/

  10. Mark .

    Microsoft are worth billions too

    There appear to be several ad-hominems in the comments. Just because Apple have a lot of money, doesn't mean criticism isn't relevant.

    By that logic, no one should ever be able to criticise Microsoft!

    Regarding the article - don't forget Symbian, also an open platform (both open source, and not a locked down walled garden). It's good that the top two platforms, covering over 60% market share, are open, whilst the Apple model of mobile computing appears to not be succeeding. Of course yes, Apple will still make plenty of money selling expensive products to a niche, that's what they always do, but I'm glad that the future of mobile computing looks open.

    And the fact that a closed model makes lots of money for Apple is precisely the reason why users should be wary of it.

    As for people always saying Apple are doomed; the same thing now happens with Nokia. We've had years of scaremongering about how they're doomed, based on misunderstood statistics, but the reality is they continue to remain the number one mobile company, continuing to grow each year.

  11. LordButt

    Room at the Top

    There is more than enough room for both open and closed systems. The world has billions of people.

    Jobs, the arrogant but talented ass, is not interested in competing in commodity markets. He markets to, and builds, and designs for, a segment that has high income, is naïve about technology, and that loves feeling fashionable.

    Jobs wants the system closed and proprietary so that Apple can control all revenue streams in and out of its devices and his consumers' pockets. And Apple takes a big bite out of every transaction whether it's from AT&T, Verizon, Amazon, Mercedes Benz, Ford, the Wall Street Journal, or Joe's Bait and Tackle. Real Time Money ("RTM") flows, 24/7. What a concept.

    Apple has more than 160 million iWhatever users. Over 10 billion (sic) apps have been downloaded from its revolutionary App Store that everyone else is copying. Apple has revenue of about $100 billion per year and profit of $24 billion. That gives Apple one of the highest profit margins in the entire world. Probably higher than cocaine.

    I own some Apple stock and would love to get a 5% annual dividend, which the company easily could afford. But I also know how much power Apple's huge cash balances give the company. My questions are: Will the stock price decline as Jobs health declines? Where is Jobs successor?

  12. FARfetched
    WTF?

    The big surprise here…

    Netgear still exists? I thought Nortel borged them and folded them into Bay Networks.

    I have an old Netgear 4-port Ethernet hub I bought years ago, shelved it when I got a proper home router, recently pulled it out and gave it to The Boy so he could connect a computer & game console upstairs.

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