10 Things Steve Jobs' E-Mails Tell Us About Apple's Strategy (
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CEO Steve Jobs has been awfully active with his e-mail account lately. The
king of Apple lovers has been responding to customer and journalist responses
in droves on a wide array of topics, ranging from the iPad to iPhone OS updates
to MacBooks.
These e-mails reveal several themes that highlight what Jobs plans to do with
his company going forward. Although the Apple CEO is careful with his words and
in many cases gave little more than one- or two-word answers, he gave hints
that we can't overlook.
Here are some of the things that Jobs' e-mails have, wittingly or not, brought
to light about Apple's future plans.
1. Apple's future is with iPhone OS
Jobs has made it abundantly clear in
all the e-mails he sent to consumers that his company's strategy will revolve
around iPhone OS for the foreseeable future. It makes sense. Apple's iPhone is
arguably the most important product it sells right now. And thanks to the iPad,
which also runs iPhone OS, the company now has another wildly popular product
to bolster its support for the software. Look for iPhone OS to be central to
Apple's strategy going forward.
2. Apple wants outright control over its App Store
In a recent e-mail exchange, Jobs indicated that his company knows what's
best for its App Store. He told the e-mail's recipient that the App Store will
be a place that's free from "porn," which he defines as
"programs that steal your personal data," and much more. It was an
interesting exchange that effectively highlighted Apple's desire to closely
control the apps that make its way to its store. It was also a shot over the
bow at those developers who want to bring potentially questionable apps to the
store.
3. Flash will never come to iPhone OS
Jobs has made it clear that even
the thought of bringing Flash to the iPhone or iPad makes him sick. He
recently told one consumer that Apple is trying "to do the right
thing" for consumers by protecting them and their investments. It was a
thinly veiled jab at Flash. But it also highlighted just how fed up the Apple
CEO really is with the Web standard. He said that developers have a choice to
stick with Adobe or adhere with Apple's standards. Many are choosing Apple—and
that's just the way Jobs likes it.
4. Jobs has an ego that dictates strategy
A quick glimpse through all the e-mails Jobs sends to consumers reveals
something that has been written about numerous times both in Web articles and
in books: Steve
Jobs has an ego. For some, that ego has turned them off to Jobs and what he
stands for. But it's that ego that helped make Apple what it is today. In every
message, he has made it clear that he stands by his contentious decisions and
will not waver.
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