Further adding fuel to the fire that hardware (or at least specs) is dead is this piece on TechRadar entitled, “The way PCs are sold is a tragedy,” about how PCs are sold today. The product for every price point is killing hardware and consumer electronics companies. Why can’t they wake up and see it?
Is it so hard to create a few great products that sell well rather than a bunch of marginal products that earn no money or price-differentiated products that compete with themselves? People will pay for clarity of product line, quality and service. Look at the economic engine that is Germany — made in Germany means a whole heck of a lot in the consumer consciousness. Look at the simplicity of Apple’s product line — products with differing configurations, not different consumer model numbers to sift through.
Apple figured it out in the late 1990s in order to save its company. Twenty years on and other technology companies are still scratching their heads. Any yes Sony, I’m talking to you.