Well, that’s not verbatim, but it might as wellbe. During Apple’s quarterly earnings call, Cook just dissed Microsoft’s new kinda-tablet-kinda-computer thing. “I suppose you could design a car that flies and floats,” Mr Cook quipped. That’s sarcasm. Mean, corporate sarcasm!
Cook also referred to the device as “compromised and confusing” when asked by an investor what he thought of the competition — which, generally speaking, isn’t wrong. Is this better than the last time he insulted hybrid PC devices by comparing them to a toaster-plus-fridge? Would you actually buy a car that flies and floats? Discuss.
*Loads shotgun*
I've wanted a flying car since I watched the Jetsons as a kid. I for one would buy one.
It's closer than you think ;)
Quantum Levitation: http://youtu.be/Ws6AAhTw7RA
Scaletrix eat your heart out: http://youtu.be/Zqmdv5iyIOY
How to park an AntiGrav vehicle: http://youtu.be/q46CpdL2u9o
I think in the context of the Surface RT he is right. It is a confusing and compromised product simply because it has the desktop.
The standard Windows desktop comes with certain expectations for a lot of consumers.
I'd download one, no questions.
Buy would be a matter of price.
You could make a car that flies and floats, and then everyone would buy it because its FRICKIN AWESOME
It's an interesting perspective and works on the premise that a tablet is actually not just another PC form factor, like a netbook or a desktop. The alternative, I suppose, is to think of a tablet as being more like a less convenient PSP or Nintendo DS, which works for me but I can't see Apple being too happy with the comparison. At the end of the day, though, what is he going to say? "I wish we'd thought of it"? Not likely.
You'd need it to float for safety reasons.
In case it breaks down.
+1
When you get the Blue windscreen of death……….
I guess you could say Tim Cook is a "Flying & Floating CEO" in comparison to ol Steve.
Compromises made by Cook
1. Producing a 7 inch tablet (yes it's 7.9 but the intended market is the same)
2. Controlled leaks of upcoming product info to promote them (don't tell me they aren't deliberate)
3. Lack of passion in tech. He is boring compared to Jobs...
Need I continue?
Acknowledging a competitor has a good product/s (in this case Surface RT and Nexus 7) and then trying to better it will earn you more customers...
Why would they be deliberate leaks? The internet already works itself into a salivating frenzy over possible Apple products. The leaking just hurts sales in the period between the leaks and the announcement, Tim Cook knows that better than anyone.
You're kidding yourself if you think some of them aren't. Why on EARTH would it hurt sales???? It'd just heighten the anticipation for 99% of people.
Ugh. You have to have it explained to you?
Example.
Rumours of an iMac product upgrade came out in June.
iMac sales dropped 30% over the last quarter.
Apple loses money, and has to sell old stock in the meantime.
You might think leaking rumours will heighten anticipation, but the reality is it hurts the bottom line.
Except it has never done so for the iPhone, iPad or MacBook. The iMac simply wasn't good enough for people, with not enough improvement. THAT is why it didn't sell well. 3 data points show it doesn't affect sales.
Don't forget the bigger iPhone :-p
What about the whole paying of dividends thing.. that was never in the plan.
That kind of "closed-thinking" gets people nowhere!
*shrug* this is like Notch and Gabe having a whinge about Win8 / Store / Metro. MS is looking to compete in a territory that fringes on their own, so they are obliged to respond and protect their own business.
I'm waiting for the day these people grow up and say " is good but ours is better. If we wanted ours to be like theirs, that's how it'd be, but it's not for these very good reasons ..."
If Apple can design a car that can also fly and float, it'll be the first Apple product I'll buy. What a stupid way to try and make fun of a product! He may as well have said "I suppose you could design a product that not only suits it's primary purpose, but can additionally be used in other useful ways."
Tim Cook wouldn't know a dumb idea even if it was called the iPad Mini.
Who is this guy??? Seems like he was born straight out of Steve Jobs uterus.
Tim Cook would be right. I believe the target audience for these are mindless consumers. Namely Americans.
Isn't the very same audience that Apple hunts for?
Actually Apple looks a bit further, it has all of us, Australians as well....
I would, but this buyer has a few questions:
If the car floats, can you drive it up on the beach/ramp? Not much point if it doesn't.
Can it take off and land from water? This would be a nice feature.
Does it take off and land vertically like a helicopter, or is it more like a plane? Vertical flight is very useful.
What range does it get?
What's the top speed (air, land, water)?
What capacity does it take (number of people and total load)?
Do you need a special kind of license to drive/pilot it?
What does it cost?
What fuel does it run off?
What's the insurance like?
these would all be incremental advances, introduced on a yearly basis to encourage you to upgrade every year, and yes it would have a retina windscreen
Will the radio still work if i dont hold the steering wheel in the 10 and 2 positions, or would i need a special steering wheel cover for that?
Radio? You don't get a radio, you get an inferior "boat/car music" app. Trying to use a radio will void your warranty.
We have new features that would work in your vehicle but we would rather withhold them so you buy the next model.
Also, please do not trust the GPS after the next update!
i loled
um.... toaster fridge? again?
Tim Cook “We would not make one of the seven inch tablets”
fastforward to middle of next year
Apple unveil worlds first tablet with attached keyboard "its a tablet and a laptop, we invented it noone else so if they wanna make one it better be triangle shaped or we'll sue sue sue"
Hmm, It's amazing how little "Mr Tim Cook" reads. I'n every MS release there is no comparison been iPad and Surface. When MS do reference the iPad, they do it and praise how good it is. The thing is that Tim Cook has missed the point of surface completely. Yes it's a tablet, but it's also so much more than that. We here are looking at the Surface to replace the Sales teams PC's because they can be portable and write notes with customers but when they get back to the office they can simply dock it and it becomes a full desktop? Tell me Mr Tim Cook, Can you're iPad do that nicely or are there a series of apps that do it. Office? Oh sorry iPad doesn't really do that natively. AD Integration? Oh sorry iPad doesn't really do that (comes in Surface Pro). Run any standard windows application from the last 20 years? Oh sorry iPad doesn't really do that (Surface Pro).
MS could the exact same thing with their product too. Does the iPad come with a built in stand so you don't need to hold it to view content? Does the iPad come with a built in ability to survive falls greater than 20cm. etc, etc, etc, but they haven't.
At the end of the day, look at what MS is targeting its new Surface and not what your product is and trying to draw up how it doesn't match. If Apple underestimates what MS is doing, they are going to be on the receiving end of what MS did to Novell Networks (AD), Citrix (Terminal Server) and Sony (xBox), Oracle (SQL Server) and Borland (Visual Studio). MS will fight and fight hard. You have been warned Tim, don't underestimate MS
All of the features that you mentioned are related to the Surface Pro. Tim Cook was talking about the Surface RT (The only Surface actually available).
The Surface Pro might be the best product ever, but it isn't on the market.
That would be like buying something that's part phone, part music device, part able to run applications targeted at a phone market; but not being able to use the phone functions very well because you can only hold it a certain way or have to buy it a cover... oh wait .....
Wow, Apple. That's original. Calling something dumb just because you didn't think of it first? Just as 'Nate' explained with the 7" iPad Mini, we'll be sure to see an iPac or iMad (iPad + iMac equivalent of Surface) some time in late 2013.
I too am waiting for Apple to release a touch screen hybrid laptop/tablet and claim it to be original. They missed that boat. Mountain Lion ain't touch, wont work on touch. Have fun designing a new touch OS (as in for a PC, like W8), meanwhile Microsoft is already set up for the future of computing.
PS. No apple, I don't want your ipad mini with it's crap screen and under powered internals. You fail with no Steve Jobs.
There are those that like Windows and those that don't. I used to be a Windows Developer till Steve Bummer pushed me away and send me looking for a Job. This was when they killed VB6 and shoved DotNet down everyones throat. Then they pushed C# if you wanted to use a Windows Phone, while others Android, Apple, even RIM allowed for alternative frameworks, Steve Bummer pushed his MS arrogance on to the developers. They were in for a surprise when they expected the iPhone to fail but instead it became the standard toppling Windows Mobile (I was saving up for an O2 with Windows Mobile 6.5) Now with Surface, they have once again pushed their arrogance onto the consumer expecting that they will buy whatever they throw at them like people do for Apple, in fact they have to bribe people to queue up outside the store with a $100 gift card. When us Aussies were waiting for the Zune, they decided that it was NOT for us.
We are good consumers, and pay serious money for our gadgets and many go to the extent of even importing their devices from overseas. Not only have MS brought out a confusing product, but one that does not worthy of competition on any attribute, be it price, performance, apps, etc. It could be a bit harsh and arrogant of Tim Cook to make that remark, but he is currently riding the wave that is left behind by Steve Jobs, it's not his own doing. In fact the results of his leadership are coming ahead with people queuing up at Starbucks for their new iPhone because that's where the updated maps asked them to be. I have an iPhone5 but it is one of the worst decisions from Apple with the resolutions.
It is evident that there is a vacuum left at Apple after Steve Jobs has gone, Apple the pioneers that made their products and people followed are now following the other products, a 4" odd resolution iPhone5, the iPad Mini, what next? I believe this is it, their peak, now the bell curve shall only see their decline (slowly, they have enough cash to last them years) and MS is not any different, the only Q that comes to my mind is, Who will be the next Apple, Samsung? Huawei, HTC, Asus, who??
Perhaps he was saying the Surface incarnations are confusing the market its trying to appeal to? Imagine an iPad that runs iOS on one version, and OSX on another. Apple and Microsoft have had a very good working partnership in the past few years so I don't think he's trying to start a flame war.
Plenty of boo hoos in here. Plenty of Apple bashing but you get Tim Cook who answers a question and all the MS diehards are up in arms. Here's a straw... Suck it up. And a full cup with a lid. Now shut the full cup.
So when Apple does it, it's revolutionary. When Microsoft does it, it's somehow totally different...