Since day one, secrecy has been Apple golden egg or rotten romatoe because is known in the technology field how difficult is to decode the next step to be taken by Apple. Industry watchers can’t stand how Apple manages its future products information or strategy. Rotten tomatoe because the IT managers need to know in advance the roadmap of their suppliers to make buying decisions. Apple will never tell IT departments how its Xserve is going to compete in the industry, the suspense factor has been a characteristic maneuver of Apple.

But if you really want to know more about Apple future, just watch the opposite side of some of Microsoft attempts to control the world… Microsoft and Apple has battled for decades, with Winodws Microsoft won the money and the perception (of being a good company) of millions of users worldwide, by creating systems and features attached to Windows (Watches, Cell phones, PDAs, Remote Controls, Entertaining Systems for home and cars), See the approach? Control everything at the same time, adding features but not pleasure.

Apple is doing the same thing, in reverse, adding pleasure to each product and everything it touches, from the ipod to the iphone, you just feel that the person that packaged those products are from heaven. Delicated and well delivered products. This is what you buy, pleasure…. And pleasure is the power behind a well designed and conceived car (Ferrari, Porsche, you name them).

Enters the Icar
Rumours are starting to circulate about a joint venture between Apple and Volkswagen that will create an Icar. A well designed and market, full of features and pleasure created to a market that understand that you just need a well mixed combination of features to have Pleasure to use the product. If it is true and not just a joint venture to supply a entertaining system for the Volky, prepare to see a minimalist and “make me proud to use” icar, it won’t fly or have a navegation system that drives you to the supermarket, but it will be a joy to use and paint green the face of your friends.

Apple future

Apart from Operating Systems the future products from both companies overlap:
Microsoft has Home invasion strategy, Xbox, Media Center, Apple has the Itv.

Microsoft has a Car Entertaining and Navegation system used by BMW (joked by Ozzy Osbourne) and some American car makers. Apple has a big present in the automobile industry with almost all new models bringing ipod connectivity to its audio entertaining system and now “Icar”, we don’t know yet what it is yet.

Apple has the Ipod and a billion+ dollars business around it, Microsoft has zune and a flunked strategy.

Apple has the itunes store and itunes music application, Microsoft created a business around zune and xbox to compete with Apple in the download space.

Microsoft has Windows Mobile operating system for phone and pda, Apple has Mac OS X.

See the path? Apple is fighting Microsoft slowly and everything started when Steve returned to Apple, this is the second coming, the definitive one. Don’t turn the youtube channel.

My bet: Apple wins in 12 rounds, but wins.