“Ecosystems are the desired business construct for technology companies. They allow a more consistent and repeatable transaction model and offer a predictability which is sorely lacking in the rapidly when technology changes rapidly,” Horace Dediu writes for Asymco. “It allows a company to define itself on its customers rather than on its products.”
“However, old habits die hard. Regardless of the exhortations of product companies, the notion of being valued on audiences is reserved for the service-oriented,” Dediu writes. “Hence the outburst from Tim Cook at the latest shareholder’s meeting. Reports have him saying that: ‘Apple now has 800 million iOS users and has handled over 16 trillion push notifications, with 40 billion new ones occurring every day. Apple also delivers several billion iMessages and FaceTime requests every day. Cook added that iPad now accounts for 78 percent of all tablets used throughout the enterprise.'”
“Trillions of push notifications aside, the claim that Apple has 800 million iOS users seemed way out of line,” Dediu writes. “This is because the number of iOS devices (excluding Apple TVs) shipped through to the end 2013 was exactly 774,336,000. One could easily imagine another 25 million or so since, giving us about 800 million sold, but I cannot see the number in use being the same, and even if they were, the number of users being the same… Perhaps he was mis-quoted or he mis-spoke but the real question isn’t the exact number but rather the implication that Apple should be seen for its users rather than its quarterly shipments. Them’s fighting words, Mr. Cook.”
Much more in the full article here.