3 ms·

The dofference is thhat Microsoft was a monopolost at the time, and Apple right now is far from being the only choice.

by kolinko 13y ago

btilly 13y ago
Exactly. Also on current growth trends, Apple is going to lose to Android. So not only don't they have a monopoly, they don't have any prospect of gaining one either.
- anko 13y ago
  I guess losing depends on a matter of perspective.. are you losing if you have less market share but more profit?
- simonh 13y ago
  Not so. Apple is increasing (1) it's market share in the US, and that was in the quarter before the new phones were released. I assume you're talking about the US market, since that's the region the DOJ has jurisdiction over to scrutinize monopolies. Apple is doing just fine against Android in the US market, and most developed markets, though I don't expect them to get anything like a monopoly and don't think they're interested in pursuing one. (1) http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/05/apple-samsung-lengthen-us-smartphone-marketshare-lead-in-q3 http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/05/apple-samsung-leng...
adventured 13y ago
Anti-trust and DOJ scrutiny have no requirement of monopoly status to pursue market abuses. It's strictly subjective, and dependent on proving consumer harm. It so happens that more often than not, market share enables companies to more easily cause consumer harm as far as the DOJ is concerned. Given Apple has, by some accounts, half the smart phone market in the US, they are absolutely a prime candidate for DOJ scrutiny on this matter. This for example (from comscore): http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/06/apples-iphone-holds-40-share-of-us-smartphone-market http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/06/apples-iphone-hold... has them at 40.4% as of July and gaining share, by far the leading individual smart phone company. Easily a market position that can draw the DOJ's attention given how large and important the market is.

The dofference is thhat Microsoft was a monopolost at the time, and Apple right now is far from being the only choice.

by kolinko 13y ago

The dofference is thhat Microsoft was a monopolost at the time, and Apple right now is far from being the only choice.

Exactly. Also on current growth trends, Apple is going to lose to Android. So not only don't they have a monopoly, they don't have any prospect of gaining one either.

anko 13y ago
I guess losing depends on a matter of perspective.. are you losing if you have less market share but more profit?
simonh 13y ago
Not so. Apple is increasing (1) it's market share in the US, and that was in the quarter before the new phones were released. I assume you're talking about the US market, since that's the region the DOJ has jurisdiction over to scrutinize monopolies. Apple is doing just fine against Android in the US market, and most developed markets, though I don't expect them to get anything like a monopoly and don't think they're interested in pursuing one. (1) http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/05/apple-samsung-lengthen-us-smartphone-marketshare-lead-in-q3 http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/05/apple-samsung-leng...

adventured 13y ago

Anti-trust and DOJ scrutiny have no requirement of monopoly status to pursue market abuses. It's strictly subjective, and dependent on proving consumer harm. It so happens that more often than not, market share enables companies to more easily cause consumer harm as far as the DOJ is concerned. Given Apple has, by some accounts, half the smart phone market in the US, they are absolutely a prime candidate for DOJ scrutiny on this matter. This for example (from comscore): http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/06/apples-iphone-holds-40-share-of-us-smartphone-market http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/09/06/apples-iphone-hold... has them at 40.4% as of July and gaining share, by far the leading individual smart phone company. Easily a market position that can draw the DOJ's attention given how large and important the market is.