Mobiledia Wed Jun 02, 2010 1:34 am
Apple's chief executive Steven Jobs, in a wide-ranging interview, discussed recent news surrounding his company, including its war with Adobe over Flash, the suicides at Chinese contractor Foxconn, challenges related to AT&T's network problems and the rivalry with Google.
Speaking at the Wall Street Journal's All Things Digital technology conference, Jobs started out by touching on recent news that Apple has surpassed Microsoft to become the world's most valuable technology company.
"It is surreal. But it doesn't matter very much," he said. "It is not what's important. It is not why any of our customers buy our products. I think it is good for us to keep that in mind. But it is a little surreal."
The topic then shifted to its battle with Adobe over Flash, the Web technology that Apple has refused to include on its iPhone and iPad devices.
"We didn't start off to have a war with Flash," Jobs said. "It wasn't until we shipped the iPad that Adobe started to raise a stink about it. We didn't raise a stink about it."
He noted that Apple simply made a technical bet that Flash wasn't necessary when competing standards, like HTML 5, would rise and replace it.
"We weren't trying to have a fight. We just decided not to use one of their products in our platform," he said. "Sometimes you have to pick the things that look like the right horses to ride going forward."
When asked whether the lack of Flash would hinder consumers, he said that the success of Apple's products suggests that customers are doing fine without it.
"People seem to be liking the iPad. We sold one every 3 seconds since we launched them," Jobs said. "If the market tells us we are making the wrong choices, we listen to the market."
Meanwhile, Jobs defended its Taiwanese contractor Foxconn, saying that while he was concerned about the spate of employee suicides, the factory wasn't a "sweatshop." He added that Apple is "over there trying to understand what is happening, and more importantly trying to understand how to help."
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company has also been fighting former partner Google in areas such as smartphones, mobile operating systems, Web browsers and music and even in the courtroom.
Jobs said the relationship became strained when Google "decided to compete with us," particularly in smartphones. He quickly added the company has no plans to get rid of the Internet giant's search and maps technology from the iPad and iPhone.
"We have some Google properties on our phone," he said. "Just because we are competing with somebody doesn't mean you have to be rude."
When asked abou the Siri acquisition in May, Jobs said that Apple has no plans to enter the search business, because it was "not something we know about" or "care deeply" about.
Since debuting the iPhone three years ago, Apple has faced criticism over the quality of AT&T's network. Jobs said he expects a lot of iPhone network issues to be resolved before the end of summer. But Jobs was far more evasive when questioned about an iPhone for another carrier in the U.S.
"There might be," he acknowledged. "The future is long. I can't talk about that stuff," hinting of a future partnership with other carriers. Analysts have speculated that Apple may soon launch a new version of the iPhone for Verizon.
Lastly, Jobs, who is still frail from recent health problems said, "The last few years have reminded me that life is fragile."
With the curtain now officially lifted on Apple’s iPhone 4, hoards of Apple devotees have already made plans to ditch their well-worn 3G S models and move onto the next iteration. But if you’re not wearing a heart-shaped locket with Steve Jobs inside, does the move to the iPhone 4 make sense? Where previous iPhone releases have towered over the competition in every way, this year’s release faces stiffer outside competition than ever before. Does Apple still have what it takes to reign supreme in the smartphone market? We stacked the iPhone 4 specs side by side with those of its most intimidating competitor, HTC’s Android-powered EVO 4G, to find out. Read Entire Review
