One of the hotter news items this week was Apple’s introduction of a cell phone. The debates about it make me recall an anecdote when somebody meet the CEO of Rolex, and asked him, “ Did you hear about this latest technology on the timepiece market?”

The Rolex CEO was purportedly heard to say, “ Oh, I don’t quite know.”

The person then proceeded to say how come the CEO would not know. But he defined the wrong industry. Rolex, according to analyst, is not on the timepiece market, but rather on the luxury brand market. Much of the value of owning a Rolex watch is not about owning the latest technology , pinpoint accuracy or watch features. Buying a Rolex watch rather is about resale value, jewelry investment, lifestyles, as well as how it makes the owner feels when people swoon over his watch. It is as much as branding and image. It is the same thing to say that Louie Vitton or Hermes is not just about bags.

Over the last few years, Apple had taken this route. Apple products is really not about technology, and while there is much debate on which is better, Microsoft Windows is still outselling Apple’s computers by almost 20 to 1. Windows is the everyman’s computer, the corporate workhorse, something that is useful, and easy to find resources for. Apple’s appeal will always be on the small niche which is hip and cool. It is almost like saying that Apple will continue to be a BMW or a Volvo. Its appeal is precisely because it is for a chosen few, and I think Apple understands this, and they know that they are a long way from becoming a Toyota or a Ford.

I remember Apple in the 80s and I think their slogans was one of the coolest then , “ The Power to be your Best”. That means they were really selling a computer that you could use to improve productivity in your workplace. But today, Apple emphasizes on being “Different”, and cool, and they even took out now the Computer in their corporate name. The best we can say is that Apple is a Lifestyle company, rather than a technology company in the strict sense of the word.

In the same way therefore as wearing a Lacoste shirt, debate on the Apple’s cell phone is not about functionality, but rather about design. It is ‘cool’ and Apple has wisely chosen a small upper niche to conquer. It will take a long time for them to catch up with Nokia, or Motorola but then that is not the purpose. After all, in today’s world, there is as much opportunity in selected niche markets which offer premium price products at a good margin, rather than fight it out in the mainstream market through massive price cutting.

So the design reflects this, and there is dominance of form over function. The Blackberry is not the most pleasing design you can see, but people buy it because it is useful, and the keyboard is really good. Some people actually can type 50 words per minute using the thumb keyboard! However, if you note that Apple cell phones don’t even have a tactile keypad. You have a touch sensitive screen. If you are an avid texting or email person, a touch sensitive screen is not the design you would go for.

Whatever the plans, Apple is a company to watch, and its innovations on design is always welcome to add more pizzazz to an otherwise staid technology industry.