Mark Sigal in O’Reilly Radar on the lessons Apple learned from the Microsoft Wars:
It’s human nature to look to the past in an attempt to understand the future. As such, I was unsurprised when I was asked… if Apple and iPhone vs Google and Android in mobile computing is “destined” to play out as Apple and the Mac did when confronted by Microsoft and Windows in the PC wars.
In a word, no. Why? My summary.
Apple has greater retail distribution than either Microsoft or Google. The Apple of today is price competitive. Apple courts a developer ecosystem. Apple owns consumers. Apple is resilient.