Greatest Successes:
I feel Apple’s pure success it its marketing genius. You never know exactly when a product is coming out or what all the specs are. That drives the rumor mill on full throttle, leading to lots of hype and promotion. Then, when the product actually launches, Apple cannot fill the demands. This is definitely on purpose to create even more demand for something consumers cannot get their hands on.
On a product level, Apple support turned the corner (or at least Microsoft looking over its shoulder) when it launched the first iMac in 1998. It was the first all-in-one computer of its kind, and started to showcase the sexy curves Apple consumers are all crazy about. The iMac service was phenomenal also.
Then, came the PowerBook G4 in 2001. This pivotal laptop became a notebook trendsetter that no other computer manufacturer has been able to replicate to this day. It was one of the first laptops to have internal wireless. It has had a Titanium construction that really started to appeal to businesses along with residences.
Biggest Screwups:
Many might not remember one of the first Apple Servers called the Network Server. In 1996, Apple tried to appeal to businesses with this network server. Instead, the $15,000 was too expensive and the box was just plain ugly to justify the non-compatible performance. Many companies were running Windows so this server was unable to communicate with the PCs especially since the server was running Unix. This product was removed from market just after 14 months.
Before there was the iPhone or iPod, there was the MessagePad in 1993. It was in black and white, or actually black font and green background and just atrocious to look at. Although it was one of the first to have slots for additional cards and devices, it was never able to sync correctly with PCs and cost at least $700 on most models. That was definitely a lot of money years back, and was axed in 1998.
