Schwarz writes, “It might be argued that he was purposefully ambiguous with his statements in order to illustrate the structural weaknesses of the cable television industry but I’m going to take him at his word and refute the following claims: No. 1. Jobs said that cable operators ‘give everybody a set-top box for free, or for $10 a month. That pretty much squashes any opportunity for innovation because nobody’s willing to buy a set-top box.'”
“Not true,” Schwarz writes. “People will pay for the right kind of set-top box.”
Schwarz writes, “No. 2. Jobs said that it’s difficult to partner with a cable company because ‘you run into another problem. Which is: there isn’t a cable operator that’s national…every single country has different standards, different government approvals, it’s very…Tower of Babelish.'”
“Steve is barking up the wrong tree,” Schwarz writes. “To bring innovation to the television industry you need to bypass the cable companies. The potential to become king of the living room is a once-per-generation opportunity and should be more than just a hobby for Apple.”
Schwarz writes, “No. 3. When discussing the obstacles of the cable TV industry, Jobs remarked, ‘I’m sure smarter people than us will figure this out, but that’s why we say Apple TV is a hobby, that’s why we use that phrase.’ Come on, Steve. I know a lot of what you said in that interview was tongue in cheek but there is no denying Apple is in the drivers seat to innovate the next big thing.”
Schwarz, “The time has come for Jobs to fully embrace new hardware that effectively leverages app use. If he can’t do it, maybe the master of business operations, COO Tim Cook is better suited to lead Apple into this new frontier. The opportunity to leverage the App Store is too massive.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Patience, oh breathless padawan. Relax. All will become clear in due time.