Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has proven himself a bit more accessible to the public than that other
Steve. And rather than gush about his Segway, the now-retired engineer had plenty of insights to share with the Telegraph about Apple -- most interestingly, his prediction of the iPod's death.
Wozniak said the iPod, Apple's most successful product, has peaked in popularity and its sales will inevitably slow down.
"The iPod has sort of lived a long life at number one," he told the Telegraph. "Things like, that if you look back to transistor radios and Walkmans, they kind of die out after a while.... It's kind of like everyone has got one or two or three. You get to a point when they are on display everywhere, they get real cheap and they are not selling as much."
Also surprising was Wozniak's criticism of the hugely successful iPhone 3G. His beef with the handset? It has a closed operating system, meaning
(unless hacked) the handset can only run applications approved by Apple
-- a subject that's stirred up controversy recently. He highlighted the benefits of Google's open mobile platform Android, which allows coders to develop whatever apps they wish.
"Consumers aren't getting all they want when companies are very proprietary and lock their products down," he said. "I would like to write some more powerful apps than what you're allowed."
Wozniak has always been known to be pretty friendly with the press and the public, but these are still some surprisingly frank comments nonetheless. He does have a point with the iPod, however. The success of the iPhone essentially works as a double-edged sword, because the handset, which includes an iPod, may easily cannibalize sales of the iPod, analysts have said.
As for vouching for an open mobile platform, that's just Wozniak speaking from an engineer's perspective. With the first Android-powered phone yet to hit stores, it's still unclear whether Google will deliver on the operating system it has promised.
Steve Wozniak interview: iconic co-founder on the iPod, iPhone, and future for Apple [Telegraph]
Photo: bangdoll/Flickr
