Apple had style and a slick user interface. AND they used massively restrictive technology until very recently.
Sony made many many errors in the digital market game. Say what you want about Apple they nailed the digital music player market with bullet-like precision.
Well, another way to look at it, is using OPEN technologies would have helped competing with a that slicker and more stylish interface
Worst but cheaper or greener can win better but more expensive!
But I don't believe he was aiming at worst, I think he meant or should have meant that by using closed technology he was facing Apple alone, but by using OPEN technologies he would have gathered a crowd and faced Apple with plenty of parties on his side
Its the PC versus Apple all over again. Apple is doing great for now, but eventually a PC-ish ecosystem for the handheld market will make it marginal!
Im not convinced that would have helped. A group like you suggest does loosely exist anyway without Sony, and it fails in a similar way - it is lacking is a cheap, sexy content delivery system & an "integrated experience".
Apple has a system from the music distribution right down to the playback device. It's an exercise in consumer manipulation.
Open formats wouldn't have fixed that problem. Look at the other digital music player makers: they suffered the exact same problems. IF Sony had pitched and sold an economic model and open format that worked from the distribution side right down to the player then maybe it would have worked. But they would never have sold that to the media companies and music rights holders. Apple got the mass content it did by using the proprietary format to make the rights holders feel safe. NOW such an open model would work (and Apple are heading that way, right) but Sony are too far behind now for it to be worth the investment.
They messed up, IMO, by trying to compete full stop. Once the Ipod had market traction as an iconic piece of tech they had lost that battle. They should have focused on more niche markets (sports markets for example, or REALLY high end devices etc etc).
EDIT: what you suggest in terms of the PC style eco system potentially might occur. But I highly doubt it for 2 reasons. Firstly because the Ipod has got so much more market traction that Macs ever did. They are the height of cool and always leading the way. Even the awesome might of Google is struggling to beat the Iphone into submission even though it is a technically superior more hackable infrastructure. Secondly because the market isn't as extensive as the PC one.
Apple had style and a slick user interface. AND they used massively restrictive technology until very recently.
Sony made many many errors in the digital market game. Say what you want about Apple they nailed the digital music player market with bullet-like precision.