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>Steve Jobs may have shunned focus groups, but he didn't ignore market research altogether. Right. Steve Jobs was brilliant because he let his competitors do h

>Steve Jobs may have shunned focus groups, but he didn't ignore market research altogether. Right. Steve Jobs was brilliant because he let his competitors do his market research for him. There's a good reason that Apple is never the first into any market. The first entrant into the market makes a lot of mistakes. Apple sits back, observes the initial entrants, and only enters the market once the initial entrants have demonstrated that the market is viable and technically feasible to enter.

silentscope 15y ago
I politely disagree. Apple may not be the company to dream up the abstract idea of what the market might be, but it has a longstanding history of being the first to capitalize on it, which could be read as "first to market". Tablets were around before the ipad. But they sucked. Portable mp3 players were around before the ipod, but they sucked. smartphones, laptops (that were hyper portable), and personal computers were around before Apple got into any of these markets. Apple's strength lies in tapping into the abstract idea of what a market could be and fully realizing it's potential. Of ushering these large complex machines and ideas into reality where non-technical people can not just interact with them but see the beauty in them too, just as any engineer would. They serve the ultimate market--the general, non-technical public. I would say that's first to market, because early adopters aren't the market necessarily--for many things they're an experimental group that you use to figure out what to bring to everyone else. Apple has its share of faults, but being a "me too" company sure ain't one of em.
- quanticle 15y ago
  Oh, I wasn't trying to imply that at all. I was saying that Apple lets its competitors do the technical and feasibility research for them by releasing half-baked products that are rejected by the market for various reasons. In the meantime they're iterating behind closed doors. End result: they launch right as the competition gives up on the market.

silentscope 15y ago

I politely disagree. Apple may not be the company to dream up the abstract idea of what the market might be, but it has a longstanding history of being the first to capitalize on it, which could be read as "first to market". Tablets were around before the ipad. But they sucked. Portable mp3 players were around before the ipod, but they sucked. smartphones, laptops (that were hyper portable), and personal computers were around before Apple got into any of these markets. Apple's strength lies in tapping into the abstract idea of what a market could be and fully realizing it's potential. Of ushering these large complex machines and ideas into reality where non-technical people can not just interact with them but see the beauty in them too, just as any engineer would. They serve the ultimate market--the general, non-technical public. I would say that's first to market, because early adopters aren't the market necessarily--for many things they're an experimental group that you use to figure out what to bring to everyone else. Apple has its share of faults, but being a "me too" company sure ain't one of em.

quanticle 15y ago
Oh, I wasn't trying to imply that at all. I was saying that Apple lets its competitors do the technical and feasibility research for them by releasing half-baked products that are rejected by the market for various reasons. In the meantime they're iterating behind closed doors. End result: they launch right as the competition gives up on the market.