From: The Daily Telegraph –
In a (relatively) rare interview, Apple’s other Steve – co-founder Wozniak – opens up to the UK’s Daily Telegraph on a wide range of issues including his relationship with Apple’s iconic CEO, Steve Jobs, his take on the iPod and iPhone phenomena and how the current economic situation is effecting the technology community.
Wozniak says he’s amazed that the iPod almost instantly became the ‘Xerox’ of the portable media player market and has managed to stay on top of that game so long. On the iPhone, Apple’s other break-out, non-computer product, Wozniak lauds its revolutionary touchscreen interface but also points out what he considers limitations in the latest 3G model. But he’s still a big fan. Back when the iPhone first came out, he enthused that it was the first device he had tried that made Web surfing on a handheld comfortable.
Woz, as he’s commonly known among associates and hard-core Apple fans, has styled himself as ‘retired’ for some time, now. Always the quiet, retiring partner in the early history of Apple Inc., he let Jobs do the talking but didn’t always agree with his flamboyant partner. In fact, the two Steves have been described by journalists and associates as ‘polar opposites’ in character. Nevertheless, he credits Jobs for building Apple into a billion-dollar business legend that’s made Jobs and Woz very wealthy men.
But Apple has not escaped the effects of this year’s economic slump. In fact, its shares have fallen in value by almost fifty percent, from a high earlier this year of about $170 to around $100 currently. And Woz admits that he fears the so-called Web 2.0 revolution may fall flat — too much capitalization producing too few real products or services, possibly leading to a tech market crash.
On a more optimistic tack, Woz looks forward to a bright future overall for the tech sector, provided the leaders, such as Apple, listen to their customers and continue to offer new products that users consider both desirable and useful. Though he doesn’t reveal any details of the next big product Apple is currently developing, Woz does hint at an even smaller, wearable iPhone – perhaps in wristwatch format.
Woz may officially be retired, but his creative imagination is still working overtime.
