> The iPod was the start of their other core competency, services + licensing, and the iTunes store. Sure, but when it launched, and while it was developed, th

> The iPod was the start of their other core competency, services + licensing, and the iTunes store. Sure, but when it launched, and while it was developed, this was not even remotely considered a core competency of the company. Which was my point. That core competency did not exist when the iPod was being worked on (and presumably could have been canned). And that’s the same case here. > An iPhone/iPad is a variation of a laptop at the end of the day. That’s an extreme stretch. To the point where Apple itself disagrees with how they’re being segmented. If it was just a variation, you’d have seen a combination of product lines and features at this point.