Is Apple the next Nokia? Now there's a question...

I got together with Ben Smith and Rafe Blandford recently to discuss this multibillion-dollar question on episode 9 of the 361 Degrees podcast: Is Apple the next Nokia?

Now, all the iFans go absolutely nuts, there’s method in this apparent madness, especially given Apple has just completed yet another ridiculously amazing quarter.

If you recall, Nokia was swimming along knocking out millions of handsets a day before it reached what we might politely describe as a market-required-correction. Things got so bad in February last year that the company found itself in a seriously precarious ‘burning platform’ position.  It’s of platforms we wanted to talk, though.

In this week’s episode we discuss the ‘technology cycle’ and how the need to refresh a mobile platform every 5 years – something that is currently causing Nokia and RIM so much pain – will eventually come to Apple.

How will Apple handle that?

How will they navigate the treacherous waters? The mobile industry is moving faster and faster — and although Apple is easily knocking back billions in revenue at the moment, it’s conceivable that it could come unstuck rather fast.

We do think Apple is one of the few firms with the vision and experience to navigate this tricky process successfully. That didn’t stop us wargaming a host of scenarios though.

Have a listen and tell me what you think:

[ Direct MP3 download – 34MB ]

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