The Importance of Saying No

Sirius Radio wants Apple to incorporate a satellite radio receiver into the iPod. A great idea and something a lot of people, including me, would probably like: an iPod that not only plays my MP3’s but lets me listen to satellite radio? And, maybe, record it? One box, two great solutions. But it looks like Apple is giving the Heisman to Mel. This is another great example of how saying “no” to your options is far more important than saying “yes”. Apple’s succes with the iPod gives them the clout/platform to do pretty much whatever they want. But, rather than going big (wrapping a camera into the iPod, a video player into iPod, a PIM, a phone) and adding complexity, they go small and whittle away the features, simplifying, simplifying, simplifying. By doing so, they play to their strengths (simple usability, clean experience, clean design) and trust that simplicity breeds loyalty and more clients, vs trying to maximize the revenue (and, ostensibly, the value) by partnering to bring more “features” to the app. Good stuff, apple.