The End of Trickle-Down Technology

Ben Thompson on how the phone market has upended conventional wisdom about how technology expands in the market:

If indeed Apple has broken through with conservatives, this has powerful implications for all kinds of companies: smartphones are the tip of the spear when it comes to the spread of technology into every part of society, and what Apple may be demonstrating is that there is real money to be made amongst late adopters if the user experience is demonstrably superior. To be sure, Apple’s powerful brand and reputation is hard to replicate, but the iPhone’s continued success offers hope that customers will pay for true differentiation, not trickle-down technology.

★ Wednesday, 21 January 2015