Personal experience: very important.

One of Apple's most popular products to date is probably the iPod. It's not an invention.

I mean..what's an iPod? It's a mp3 player. And, like I said, it's not an invention, it was an innovation from Sony's and other companies' mp3 players. The small round mp3 player, and you have to move the little knob on the side up or down for fast forward and volume.
Now, would someone choose that kind of technology to listen to their music, or an iPod, a gadget that has a touch roll pad, and a screen that shows the song playing (even Sony's mp3 displays the song's name and details..but it's different). And what's been realized by the market is that Apple knows what customers want and how to give it to them: the personal experience, that is so important to customers and consumers. Using the touch roll pad, customizing the background, using iTunes, the virtual music library, to manage your music, to buy your music. Professor Koulopoulos from Bentley University stated that customers are looking for that unique experience of the gadget, something that the rest of the market is missing out on, or not able to fully grasp.

And this is the interesting thing. About everything that Apple launches in the market isn't invented, it's innovated from products that already exist in the market.

It's the innovation they're highly focused on, not the invention. 

The tablet--another opportunity missed by Sony...

The iPad.
Apple's latest innovation that's making the industry go crazy. I personally don't have any experience with the iPad but it seems interesting...I mean, obviously I've played around with it in the Apple store and a little bit on my friend's, but that's about it.

I don't know about you people out there, but didn't the iPad seem...what's the right word here...hmm..."random" in Apple's innovation collection? The last thing I had imagined Apple to come out with was the tablet. From my own point of view I would say it's random, because I didn't know there was a potential market for tablets and that it would be the 'the next best thing'.

But from Sony's R&D department's view I would say...

"How did we not see this coming?" The steady flow from desktop computers to personalized, individual laptops that can be carried around and used wherever and whenever (of course assuming that its battery has been charged) you want and then moving to tablets...even smaller than laptops and touchscreen and big enough to watch and work on it. Carrying around a much thinner, more delicate virtual book; having all my applications needed for online banking, bill paying, etc. in that one tablet that I can so easily carry around, compared to the laptop that is heavy, with its huge and heavy charger. And to top it all off, the market is buzzing with touchscreen gadgets, from phones to cameras and now the tablet.
Another opportunity missed by Sony...

My Identity in this Case Study

I'm going to a break from the Apple and quickly describe who I am going to be in this case study.

As I'm describing a specific firm in the technology industry (Apple, Inc.), I feel it would be most sensible to write from a competitor's point of view. In this case, I will be an employee at Sony Electronics Inc. who is working in the Research &Development department, or in the "Innovation Zone" as Professor Thomas Koulopoulos from Bentley University describes the Innovation area in his book "The Innovation Zone". It would be most sensible to write from this perspective because I'm going to be comparing Apple's success to Sony's success in the future as well and how it took over Sony's success in the industry. Thus, I will talk from a Sony Electronics, Inc. employee's perspective. This will not be a blog and essay about what Sony's specific steps are going to be to catch up with Apple, but it will definitely mention how Sony and other of Apple's competitors could improve; it won't be a large part of this blog and essay though. 

How it all started... (Part 2)

Continuing the post "How it all started...(Part 1)", Apple went through many failures until it hit its jackpot success that gave them a break in the market: Mac OS X, the operating system for Apple's electronic products. After the operating product was paired up with the Apple products, such as the laptops and desktops, profitability arose. And to top it all off, the iPod was released in the market. Although it took the iPod some time to be accepted by consumers, it is now one of the firm's most popular product. I personally only associated Apple with the iPod at first, until I reached out to try some of their other products.
Some of Apple's products are their Mac laptops, the iMac, Mac OS X operating system versions, the iPod, iPhone, and its newest innovation, the iPad, a portable touchscreen tablet that is, according to news articles and personal conversations I have with my associates, one of the most demanding products in the industry right now. Although the iPad isn't an invention of the tablet, it is probably the most successful and most demanded one right now, that's why everyone is following them. Samsung is marketing its tablet much stronger now. I realized this when I went back home to Dubai for winter break and saw an overflowing amount of public ads for Samsung's tablet. Also, Blackberry, the popular smartphone brand has come up with a tablet as well.
Apple creates the industry's standards and expectations. From what it seems right now, they are at the top of the game. They come up with innovative ideas that consumers are looking for, but not to the extent-they give the customers and consumers more than they're looking for, and in a good way. That's why, according to a class discussion in my Management of Innovation class, the public eagerly awaits for their new launches. But because the expectation has been set so high, the public is simultaneously also looking for the moment to slander Apple and criticize them, just to find a default. But this is overshadowed right now by Apple's impressive success and leadership in the technology industry.

Source:

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/mac-platform/articles/65346.aspx