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January 15, 2007
Apple's Big News
There was a lot of buzz about the new iPhone but what seems to me an even larger story received scant public comment: the change in name, from Apple Computer, to simply Apple.
Why's that a big deal? You shouldn't even have to ask. Listen, there are people who would argue that Apple Computer's not been in the computer business for quite some time, that they've been in the design and marketing business with computers as their objects d'arte.
But that misses the point.
To-date, differentiation has been easy for Apple. Until now, Apple Computer has been defined as much by the long-standing feud with Microsoft and with the larger culture war (creative vs. business, liberal arts vs. b-school) for which these positions offered a convenient shorthand as it has by any substantive difference in product offerings. Here's a sample, in case you've managed to miss it, of the great campaign Apple's been running to highlight these differences:
Now, with the change from Apple Computer to Apple, things will get interesting. The first challenge Apple faces will be one of focus. Take "computer" out of the name and you start to wonder what Apple will stand for, what it will become when it grows up. Perhaps the better question will be what isn't it? Could you imagine Apple as a clothing brand? In the automotive space (perhaps as an added-value service in premium cars in partnership with Google maps and iTunes)? Don't be too quick to answer no. Truth is, now that "Computer" is gone, Apple stands for two things: past products, and cool. Not a bad position to be in at all.
Posted by davidkippen at January 15, 2007 01:32 PM