Valid question. IBM lost control of the PC market because it gave away the rights to the two most complex parts of the architecture - the processor and the OS (

Valid question. IBM lost control of the PC market because it gave away the rights to the two most complex parts of the architecture - the processor and the OS (to Intel and MS respectively). Hence, any other manufacturer could easily build a PC using the products of those two new companies. On the other hand, Apple successfully controls the key interface to its iPhone platform (the OS) - so the centralised app-store approach will probably be around for a while.