Apple Is Out For the Money

Don't let my headline fool you--every company is out to make money on their technology products. But in Apple's case, the requirement to make money on its retail stores or any other endeavor is simply practical...you have to be profitable in order to continue innovating and creating new products. Microsoft isn't so lucky. In a recent interview CEO Steve Ballmer said the company won't lose money on the upcoming Zune mp3 player, although it's difficult to understand how that could be. They'll have to absorb the initial design, engineering and production costs, and then sell the devices at the same price as Apple, which has had years of experience in lowering their costs and maximizing their margin. He added that the real value of the device will be to create community, something he said would eventually generate money from advertising or other programs. Microsoft isn't interested in making money, at least for a few years. Like their other new products, they're simply reacting to the market, with the motive not to be left behind (although $45 billion a year indicates they aren't really behind anything). Apple, on the other hand, wants to come up with something new, such as the Q1 2007 iTV product that Jobs recently announced. Pushing ahead (Apple) or trying to keep up (Microsoft)? Which path?