When the iPhone was introduced in January, 2007 Apple's use of a multitouch interface was seen as a huge gamble. In June of that year iPhones began flying off the shelves. By the end of 2008 over 13 million had been sold. Some in the mobile industry understood what was happening. Others did not.
Which CEOs got it, which didn't, and which still don't? Play Guess That CEO to find out!
1 - In October, 2008 while introducing a touchscreen smartphone, this CEO declared that Apple had done the industry "a big favor" by introducing the iPhone and thereby heightening consumer expectations.
2 - In March, 2009 this CEO declared, "[Our operating system] has touch on it. The way Apple does touch drives cost. The way they do it on the iPhone is not an inexpensive component. We'll do it in a way that you can afford to do it on most phones."
3 - In April, 2010, when approximately 40 million iPhones had been sold, this CEO revealed, "We're finding — if you look at the surveys, you can see that large amount of the customers that have purchased touchscreen devices in last two years, they intend to get a device with the QWERTY keyboard on it now, right. I mean, they've got into a point where they've realize that a touchscreen alone is not enough; so that's important."
1 - He could see Apple had changed the game, but he couldn't figure out how to get his team back in it. This CEO is now out of a job.
2 - He didn't really realize that the game had changed but seems to be learning. This CEO still has his job.
3 - He still doesn't even know what game is being played. This CEO may not have a job for long.
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