Jobs muses on Kindle, Android and Zune

 

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Posted on 17 Jan 2008 at 09:56

Steve Jobs thinks Kindle will be a failure, Android is a mistake and as for Zune, he's waiting till he sees one.

The Apple chief executive, who like his company as a whole can be evasive when his own products are criticised, was happy to give his verdicts on one or two of the most high-profile tech debuts of 2007.

Speaking after his Tuesday keynote to the San Francisco Mac expo, Jobs resisted the temptation to join critics of Kindle's wonky design. Instead he simply believes that the Amazon e-book reader has no market.

"It doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore," he told the New York Times. "Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don't read anymore."

Android, Google's new mobile platform, may well find a market, but, says Jobs, at the expense of Google's core business.

"I actually think Google has achieved their goal without Android, and I now think Android hurts them more than it helps them," he said. "It's just going to divide them and people who want to be their partners."

As for Apple's products, MacBook Air is something Jobs and his team "lust after". The beauty is in the detail, from the engineering feat of cramming so much into such a small space to the fact that the notebook has just four rubber feet to sit on. Five or six is not uncommon on other manufacturers machines, they are so flimsy, Jobs said.

Apparently disappointment with the keynote stems from two things that Jobs did not say, rather than what he did. One was the lack of "one more thing" - as if the new notebook, iTunes movie rentals and the industry's smartest backup solution were not enough. The other was no mention of a 3G iPhone or a deal with China Mobile.

But where did talk of a China deal come from, asked Jobs.

"People just make this stuff up," he said, adding that there have been no talks, contrary to a recent statement by the China's number one mobile operator.

As for Zune, Jobs reflected on a recent comment by Microsoft executive Robbie Bach who said that Microsoft's portable media player is now a credible alternative to the iPod.

"Was he inebriated? Do you even know anyone who owns a Zune?"

Author: Simon Aughton