Did Nokia fail to innovate? No. Apple just transformed the market.
Let's go back 5 years in time:
Nokia was the leader in mobile phones, they had economies of scale others could only dream off. They have tens of different models at any point in time, to please every segment of customers. They had a huge distribution network and had a good brand reputation.
Apple on the other hand, had been a company selling computers, and since a few years also an MP3 player. In 2007, they introduced their first phone they ever made, the iPhone. They could not compete with Nokia on anything, except for its user interface. Then they developed 1 new model every year, and who didn't like that model, could still buy phones from competitors. They were only aiming at the high end market. But then they converted the phone into a platform that linked content providers (music, books, news, applications) to the consumers. Apple didn't pay a single dollar for the hundred of thousands of apps that were developed by the crowd. Yet they made money on each of the apps or content that was sold through their platform. They controlled the ecosystem of application developers, content creators all they way down to the consumer.
Today, Nokia still has the most advanced phones (wireless loading, 41 mpix camera etc.) at any price point, but they don't have an ecosystem like the one Apple has developed.
Today, Apple has converted themselves from a PC producer ( the Mac has become a marginal product for them), into a phone company with only 2 primary models, the regular iPhone and the 10 inch version they call the iPad. And with these 2 products, they have become the most valuable company on this planet today. And where Nokia is spending 11.6% of revenue in R&D, Apple is spending only 2.2%. Now, if that is not impressive!
Nokia innovated phones continuously, but Apple transformed the whole business by introducing a platform that governed a complete ecosystem.
"Did Nokia fail to innovate? No. Apple just transformed the market."
ReplyDeleteFailing to recognize the key trends leading to innovation by others is i.m.o. akin to failing to innovate.
As is often the case with successful companies, Nokia defined its customer needs too narrowly, and kept trying to get ever better in that narrow market, until that market all but disappeared.
(1 reason why Toyota for instance still remains relevant is that it started hybrid research when that was not yet on the agenda of most car buyers / governments.)
The Mobile App is connect the world around in your hand Mobile Phone. It's really true. Now the more users are using many apps to have control and access all the features. It's totally reduce a time of human works.
Delete