Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Innovation in Technology:

Here is an article regarding Apple's acquisition of Beats:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4ebce752-e6a3-11e3-9a20-00144feabdc0.html#slide0

This quote, I believe, is indicative of the advantages of having numerous competitors in the tech market, generating new innovation:


“We’ve got a streaming service that we believe is the first to get it right,” Mr Cook [Apple CEO] told the FT. “They had the insight that human curation was very important . . . we think they’ve done an A plus job.”
Beats was superior to rival streaming services, he added. “Some of them are no more than a random set of songs put together.”

What do you think about Apple's acquisition of Beats? Do you believe that Apple's growth into becoming a veritable tech giant is detrimental to innovation within the industry much in the mold of a monopoly?

4 comments:

  1. Essentially, Dr. Dre put his name on some headphones, and then they got popular. After a while, he decided to cash out on his successful business by handing it off to Apple. This will likely make computers' sound systems a bit better. I assume both Apple and Dr. Dre will be profiting from this deal.

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  2. I think constant innovation and high quality are some of of Apple's main trade marks but i think their products are too specialized to be considered a threat in terms of having monopoly power because Microsoft is a big competitors and it does have a large brand loyal customer base too. I just think Apple is doing all they can to keep up with the competition as well as highlighting their unique and ever improving products through collaboration and acquisitions of other brands/companies.

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  3. i do agree with Justina, to some extent. I think Apple's acquisition of those firms increases its monopoly power, in the short run, and expands the services that they provide to their customers. As a result, it keeps them at least one step ahead of its closest competitors. However, competition is very intense and the ability to be constantly innovative really drives the tech industry. Apple's near monopoly in this industry might slow down innovation, in the long run.

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  4. I'm neutral on Apple's decision to buy Beats. I'm happy for Dr.Dre but I'm not sure if this was the best decision for Apple. They definitely have a lot of cash, but I think there may have been many other better ways of using that cash. Carl Icahn wants Apple to give the cash back to shareholders, while others want Apple to innovate more. I think Apple should use their money to create new markets like they have before with the original ipod and perfect their new product, instead of making new generations of older products that only work slightly better and buying out other companies that aren't really related to what Apple does. In short, I think Apple should find and focus on something they're good at, instead of trying to become a conglomerate.

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