Google's $50,000,000,000 doesn't come from 2,000,000,000 users. Not even close. The upper bound would be defined by dividing the revenue by the number of users contributing to that revenue. If Apple is seeing $160/user/year and that declines a bit as margins fall and it's possible for them to add $20/year/user now and expect that number to grow markedly each year, then cutting prices, boosting users & share, and adding stability - even if it costs a bit in the short run - would pay off.
Instead, I think the iPad is a sign of what is to come for the iPhone, and they won't do anything about it... they'll just take a stab at new products (with the profit prospects for the rumored ones increasingly dimming). |
