Anonymous

London

Wonk

Agree that the iphone nano and games console ideas Jo raises have some merit but the inclusion of the points we both seem to agree have zero value seriously undermines the credibility of the article or its author.

Jo, Apple makes "systems" - a hardware/software ecosystem if you like. You simply cannot ignore the fundamental business model here. Whether Apple is right or wrong in its approach is a far more compelling discussion (and there are many arguments for and against this, none of which you set out).

Given MS's current struggles, arguing that Apple should do a Microsoft and sell tablets (which are a proven failure for the very valid reasons that my esteemed fellow commentator has argued) and a software-only OS solution sounds like the sort of thing Apple should absolutely NOT be doing. Consumers are, as Apple's most recent numbers prove, not particularly fussed about choice - they want value. If that means spending money further up the IT food chain in order to obtain a more compelling experience, then so be it. I am deliberately excluding Linux users and hardcore gamers from that category - they stick to what they know and love (for good reason). What we're dealing with here is the "floating user" - there are more of these than you or me.