Mikey Campbell
An email Apple cofounder Steve Jobs sent to his top executives outlines the vision he had for the company in 2010, including future iPhone iterations, "Apple TV 2" and changes to MobileMe that hoped would leapfrog Google's cloud services.
The correspondence, submitted as evidence in the second California Apple v. Samsung patent trial, is bullet list of topics for Apple's Top 100, an annual meeting at which high-ranking employees gather to steer the company for the coming year. While just ideas and short notes, the email offers a rare glimpse into how Apple operates and, more importantly for Samsung, how it viewed competition.
As noted by The Verge, the Jobs email includes mention of a "Holy War" with Google. According to Jobs, this topic was the primary reason for the 2010 Top 100 meeting.
Even in 2010, Jobs was taking about the "Post PC era" and Apple being the first to get there with the iPad. He recognized the power of a tablet and a decentralized cloud-based ecosystem. Taking this idea a step further, Jobs noted that the "PC [was] now just another client alongside iPhone, iPad, iPod touch."
Everything was moving to the cloud, but Apple was behind after being caught in an "innovator's dilemma" regarding the Digital Hub concept, which put the PC at the center of a user's device universe. Microsoft and Google had a leg up in cloud technology, something that needed to be remedied.
Alongside the cloud initiatives, Jobs took special note of Apple TV, saying it needed to be a "must have" accessory for iOS devices. Once again, Apple sought to incorporate the set-top box into its iOS ecosystem, including expanded content, TV subscriptions and more. Mention was made of apps, a browser (presumably a Web browser) and a "magic wand," the latter of which may refer to this device, first uncovered by AppleInsider in 2009.
The full email is embedded below.
William Gallagher
Malcolm Owen
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112 Comments
Great, Apple, just great. Now this email is going to be plastered all over the internet. I'm really beginning to think this lawsuit will end up hurting and embarrassing Apple more than any of their competitors. :rolleyes:
And there's a reference to a cheaper iPhone straight, isn't there?
Roku CEO: Apple TV is essentially an accessory for the iPad. SJ: Apple TV is a "must have" accessory for iOS devices Guess the Roku CEO wasn't wrong all along. Time for some crow eating.
Wow, he was really across the details. And to those who think Apple doesn't care about specs, well they might not market that way, but he was interested in keeping up at least.
Wow- what fun to read. I'm dying to know what "confidiential" is! Liked "add content: NBC, Viacom, HBO. Subscriptions". They were thinking it then, likely just couldn't get it done. Doh.