![]() Microsoft is fundamentally a good channel partner." I think there will always be ways for retailers and OEMs to participate in software sales. "The question is whether their app store is a controlled environment, or whether they'll work with their OEM and channel partners. "And it's clear that Microsoft will on some level go to an app store in Windows 8," Baker continued. "There's no upgrade cycle for tablets or smartphones," Baker observed, adding that Lion's use of the Mac App Store is just an extension of those models. "For them, controlling the user experience is more important than the money."īaker expects that Lion will do well, but cautioned that even in the best circumstances, revenue generated by the upgrade will be "just a footnote" to its total income.Īpple may be taking an unprecedented sales step with its desktop operating system, but the company's not only following an existing trend but will be tailed by others, including Microsoft, said Baker. "This affords them an additional level of control," said Baker, referring to Apple's well-known fondness for holding tight to the reins of business, from hardware and software design to retail with its own chain of stores. "They're used to selling bits and bytes."ĭuring the Monday keynote at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Philip Schiller, the company's head of marketing, claimed that the Mac App Store was the world's largest seller of personal computer software, and was beating Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Office Depot in that arena.īut other factors beyond cutting out the middleman were probably more important to Apple. "The software guys always resented the retail distribution and its physical costs," said Baker. Two years ago, NPD said its data showed Snow Leopard had sold twice as many copies in its first two weeks of availability than the 2007 upgrade to Mac OS X 10.5, aka Leopard, which was priced at $129 for a single license, $149 for a five-license Family Pack.īaker wasn't surprised that Apple will use its Mac App Store to sell Lion. ![]() That upgrade sold $29, but because it was a traditional DVD-based boxed product, Apple didn't bring in as much per unit as it will with Lion as a download-only title. But he said that Apple would easily make more money on Lion than it did on the predecessor, 2009's Snow Leopard.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |