Standardisation spurs evolutionary change in PC world
By Richard Waters
Published: June 1 2011 20:00 | Last updated: June 1 2011 20:00
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Steve Jobs must be feeling pretty good right now. At Computex in Taiwan this week – the trade show for companies that actually manufacture the stuff on which the digital age depends – there were plenty of indications that Apple’s ideas have conquered the PC world.
The reverberations this will have through the wider technology industry – including the companies at Computex – are now being felt. The PC ecosystem may have had its creative tensions, not least because of the inordinate share of the profits that went to Microsoft and Intel. But in the new order, other companies that had learnt to thrive in this world will have to rethink their position.
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The emulation of all things Apple was apparent in Intel’s latest attempt to breathe life into the venerable PC: a thin, lightweight laptop that had more than a passing resemblance to the MacBook Air.
The machine is dubbed, rather unimaginatively, the Ultrabook, as though Intel had sifted through the grab-bag of other attempts to reinvent the PC – containing items such as smartbooks, netbooks and ultraportable PCs – to come up with its latest amalgam. Given that the chipmaker hopes this machine will account for a full 40 per cent of the market by the end of next year, one can only hope it has given more thought to the guts and performance of the machine.
Computex was also set to get a glimpse of Microsoft’s push for relevance in the tablet computing market, with the first machine running a forthcoming version of Windows. Devices based on the software are expected to hit the market next year.
If the older powers of the tech world are finally responding to the challenge from Apple, so much the better for the many other companies that make up the supply chains on which the industry depends. But the rules of the game are changing and not always in ways that the players are likely to welcome.
That was apparent from complaints being voiced in Taiwan this week by Acer, but likely to be felt much more widely. Having grown up in the PC world, Acer had been accustomed to a rough-and-ready compromise: Intel and Microsoft would supply the core silicon and software platforms but leave it to the rest of the industry to build what it wanted on this foundation.
With tablets, things are changing. Microsoft has restricted the number of initial tablets based on its software to just 10, according to Acer, keeping close control of which hardware producers work with which chipset producers. There have been other signs of Microsoft taking a more direct hand in hardware choices. For the latest version of its smartphone software, it has laid down a more precise specification for manufacturers to make sure the new “Windows Phones” achieve a common level of quality. Given the positive reviews for the devices, that is beginning to look like a smart move (though it has yet to translate into sales).
There are also strong echoes here of Google’s efforts to bring more cohesion to the fast-growing but chaotic Android ecosystem. The internet company limits new releases of the software to favoured manufacturers and has caused some wider consternation as it shows signs of exerting more control over Android devices.
Adding to the stresses in the system, Asian hardware makers that long played a part further down the food chain, competing fiercely on price to make commodity components or assemble entire devices, have been looking to move up in the world. Instead, they’re being given less freedom to differentiate themselves.
A certain level of standardisation has always been required in the PC world – indeed, it has been the basis of the PC’s success, because it provides a large, common base for which developers can write applications. But the pressure from Apple’s success has added an extra dimension, forcing companies such as Microsoft to take a more direct interest in the final consumer experience provided by devices that contain their software. That means a greater uniformity in things like Windows Phones and Windows Tablets – and it will doubtless also bring greater uniformity to the Apple-like Ultrabooks, should they ever appear in the sort of volumes of which Intel dreams.
The ultimate question this raises is whether the horizontal industry structure of the PC world is giving way to a more vertical approach based on the Apple model – and whether that will eventually lead to outright mergers.
Microsoft has tried the hardware business before, with things like the Zune player and short-lived Kin smartphone. For now, it – and other tech giants – would prefer to exert their influence by drawing tighter rules around their ecosystems. Whether this is enough to emulate Apple – and whether their traditional partnerships can handle the inevitable stresses – remains to be seen.
Richard Waters is the FT’s west coast editor
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011.
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