Mobile And PC Market? Checked. HDTV? Coming Soon And Checked. What’s Next After That For Apple?

Apple still has a long long way to go before it captures the mobile market the way it dominates the MP3 market with the iPod.  There is no indication that Apple can keep up the momentum with the iPad in the tablet market and while the iPhone is flourishing, the market is simply too big and competition too fierce.  

Whatever happens, at some point, Apple will need to also move into a new market.  Or create one as it has done once or twice in its lifetime.  The best bet is HDTV.  Fine.  That seems to be what everyone's thinking.  

Suppose Apple hits its mobile plateau and fights it out with Sony, LG, and Samsung the next couple of years in the HDTV market, then what?

What will Apple do after that?  What new market can Steve Jobs look to dominate? What new market can Apple create – a new tech or service that we did not previously know we needed?

Wall Street Agree With US Apple Has More Room To Grow

I can't help but feel that sometimes, Wall Street reads our blogs.  And not just mine but everyone else's when it comes to Apple speculations, rumors, and discussions.  And here's another one.  

Yesterday, I wrote just how folks are underestimating just the kind of force Apple has become.  When you pick apart the individual products, iPhone, iPod, iPad, or the Macbook Air, you see how they stack up against their respective competing devices.  That is the wrong way to go about it.  

You need to take Apple's whole mobile strategy, the mobile gears along with iOS 5 and the Lion and then stack that up against its competitors.  And you see that Apple really has no peers in this respect.  The iPhone was leading a "fellowship" (I used a Lord of The Rings reference) of Apple gears down a very very profitable road.

Furthermore, Apple is on pace to selling more than one hundred million iPhones in a year.  And if you translate Apple's market share today to a few years later when a major of devices sold are smartphones, Apple looks to be able to push out hundreds of millions of iPhones.

And that is exactly why there are talks about Apple being the first trillion dollar publicly traded company.  And that is exactly why Fortune is referencing Shawn Wu of Sterne Agee's report on just how big Apple's future is in mobile.

Here are some highlights.  As I've said, Apple is probably going to be able to sell iPhones in the hundreds of millions if things keep going the way they are.  Apple's smallish PC market is going keep growing and at a faster rate than anyone realizes.  Taken as a whole, Apple is the only pure play that can encompass three trends going on in mobile:  mobile Internet, cloud computing, leading consumer technology.

Okay, maybe Shaw Wu didn't read my posts but he probably read others with the same idea I have.  What is inescapable is the dominance Apple has now and given its small market share in mobile, Apple is really just a startup with a lot of room to grow.

More Companies Use HTML 5 To Bypass App Stores – Amazon And Vudu

Just yesterday, I wrote about Facebook’s HTML 5 push that they were developing and why webapps offer some pretty compelling advantages to mobile users.  And it’s significant to today’s two major webapp news.  First let’s go back to 2007 when Apple introduced the iPhone for a moment.

On the original iPhone, there were very few apps outside of Apple’s own and certainly no app store.  It was only when the jail-break community that got in on the action did we have dedicated apps.  Then a year later, the app store took the mobile world by storm.

To make the story short, Apple to this day has tight control of the app store.  And certainly, started enforcing a policy that require apps that sell services or content to remove the “buy” button or face giving Apple a 30% of the cut.  So, companies what came naturally to protect their profits – innovate.  Sometimes it works, sometimes, it doesn’t.

What does some companies do when restricted by Apple?

More at Clouding Around.

Apple Clears Out UK Stores Amidst Riots

Apple has cleared out their stores of inventory to avoid being targeted by rioters.  It's an indictment on the handling of the rioting so far in London.

This started when a suspect was shot and killed three days ago.  

Also, resellers are doing the same thing as well.  Just hope everyone's safe.

More at 9to5Mac.

Apple Granted Preliminary Injunction In Europe To Keep Galaxy Tab 10.1 From Sale

It looks like things have been to this point faster in Europe. A German court granted Apple's request to keep Samsung from selling its Android tablet in Europe.  

Samsung will obviously appeal the ruling.  However, that could take up to 4 weeks.  I'm of the opinion that Apple isn't in this for the money.  It's in this to protect its patents and what it perceives as the uniqueness of its devices like the iPhone and iPad.

Meanwhile, the patent wars will continue in Europe and else where.  If you recall, Samsung has delayed the Tab debut in Australia last week.

Also interesting note: the same judge who issue the ruling will also be hearing Samsung's appeal.  

I've included a few links from neutral to pro-Android to pro-Apple for you to check out and see just how each side sees this issue.  

More at Gizmodo, Android Community, Appleinsider, MacDailyNews - Telegraph.

Mobile: Apple's iPhone Leads A Fellowship of iOS Devices and Macbooks

There is this one scene in the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Arwin, the elf princess, with Frodo Baggins near death, raced through the lands as the Dark Lord's minions, the Black Riders raced to catch them and retrieve the one Ring.  In some respects, this is a parallel that seems to be going on in the mobile market

While Android does have the bulk of the marketshare, it seems like Apple is still leading the charge in some respects.  You can point out specific features of one platform that is better than another.  However, it is undeniable that the iPhone is one the most sought after single device on the mobile market.

In fact, the iPhone 4 alone has Apple in first place:  the biggest smartphone maker in the world.  Meanwhile, the rest of the market is trying to catch it. 

Apple ID Limited To 10 Devices In Use From Now On - Makes Sense

One of the great things about Apple's Mac and iOS ecosystem is that you're can buy once and install on many devices - depending on your assortments of Macs and iOS devices.  I've got three Macs, iPhone, iPod touch, and a three iPads.  That's eight devices right there.  And if things go according it as Apple planned, I'll have only two more devices to authorize my account on.

According to The Unofficial Apple Weblog, the new policy is already two months old.  And not only is the limitation now to ten devices (Macs included), there will be a 90-day wait period before the device can reassign a new ID.  That is what I'm a bit perplexed about. 

Personally, I thought this was all about making users pay media than anything else. If I give or sell a device, it would make more sense for Apple want to release the device for a new ID and use.

At the end of the day, ten devices is very generous.  Still, I can't help but wonder I will need to create a new ID for some family members as well.  And I hope Apple does change the 90-day lock-in policy.