The Future Of Apple Inc. (AAPL)?

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It was Apple that helped kick-start the mobile craze with the iPod, essentially the digital successor to the Walkman. A trio of i-hits has taken Apple far and helped to rejuvenate its personal computer business. The iPhone took the cell phone industry to new heights and the iPad has successfully made a computer-like product easy to use and portable. Creating cutting edge products that are both high quality and highly stylish are Apple’s hallmarks.

In that, Apple seems a lot like Sony in the latter company’s hayday. And Apple has a notable ego about it, perhaps deservedly so. However, Sony should stand as a warning to what can happen when you are at the top of your game.

A Target for Everyone

One of the things about Apple is that it is everybody’s target. For example, in the tablet space Apple is a clear leader, but Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s Kindle has been getting increasingly competitive. A large part of that is Amazon’s massive customer base. The recent music push, in which Amazon will give customers free online digital versions of music purchased through the company’s website, is a clear attack at the dominance of the iTunes marketplace.

Will the Kindle replace the iPad? Probably not, but coupled with Amazon’s reach in music, books, and video, it is a competitor with which to be concerned. So, too, is Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), with its ubiquitous Android operating system. The problem with Google is that its business model is very different from most competitors, since it just wants to control the advertising and doesn’t care as much about proprietary devices.

Proprietary Problems

That, in fact, is one of Apple’s biggest problems. It doesn’t share very well and it never has. When the company squeezed out Steve Jobs and tried to go mainstream with its personal computers, it wound up teetering on the brink of irrelevance. When Jobs came back aboard, and the company went back to controlling everything, it got its stride back.

However, part of that stride has been based on being hip and cool. Effectively, the company is selling retail technology gadgets. There are lots of companies in the space and being the hip and cool company usually doesn’t last forever. Sony, for example, held that spot at one point. Is Apple going to turn into Sony overnight? No. But investors need to examine Apple more closely so they fully understand the risks they are taking when they invest.

Yours,

The article The Future Of Apple? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Reuben Gregg Brewer.

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