Jim,
I spend a lot of time in China. Just pointing out that the “entire world” does not have the same access to the internet that we enjoy here (at present, neutering net neutrality will disable some of that). There remain geographic restrictions on internet access. Political forces can change that access here and elsewhere.
Denny,
Apple is a great example for a couple of reasons. You already addressed one of them which is that the introduction of new technologies can serve to repeat the S-curve. The other thing that Apple has done with great success which I think most other companies have not been able to emulate is that with each new product they tied it back to their ecosystem. All their products (well, the iPhone really took this to a higher level) share in this common base and many share data within the ecosystem. Talk about stickiness. It’s really hard to exit once you’ve become captive. And you barely notice that you’re becoming captive until you’re already a in iPrison. If you own an iPhone, you’ll think twice about switching to a different brand for a slightly improved bell or buzzer. You’re much more likely to wait around for the next iteration of the iPhone (iPad, iWhatever).
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