It's going to get a lot worse for Apple
The attribution of the phrase "Be nice to people on the way up, you may need them on the way down" may be in doubt, but it's value is not. Apple has not been nice to its customers on the way up.
And by customers I don't mean consumers. Consumers are the people who buy phones singly. Customers are those who buy in bulk, the retailers, wholesalers and principally the mobile phone operators.
If there was a theme at Mobile World Congress it was how much the operators hate Apple (and Google in the merging markets), how the operators feel that the Over The Top players have stolen their lunch money.
Ever since AT&T's Ralph de la Vega sat down with Steve Jobs and did a deal which gave the iPhone a clear run at the market the mobile industry has been pouring money into the pockets of Apple and the industry has had enough.
Their solution - Firefox - is not a good one but that won't stop the operators from doing whatever they can to move consumers onto something which isn't Apple, even if it has to be Google, and I see a rosy future for Windowsphone.
When I worked for Motorola, and we were making rubbish phones - a decade ago - there was some sympathy and support from our customers because we'd made money for them in the past. They still ranged our products and maintained a good business relationship with us.
Apple will get no such favours. The operators are itching to drop iPhones from their portfolios and at the first hint of consumers moving to the next new shiny thing they will.
Galaxy S4 anyone?
In the meantime expect lots of new marginal new products from Apple - the first sign of trying too hard will be when they start doing lots of fruity colours.
Simon
